Synthesis
by skylines01
Summary: A young girl, having spent her entire life working with Pokemon of all sorts, prepares to embark on a journey she has seen so many others fail. Should she walk with confidence, or trepidation? Has her experience well-prepared her, or is something more required to follow this path? Rated M for coarse language and mature themes. Credit for cover /itsbirdy/
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Mommy, Mommy, look!"

The little girl dashed away from her mother, headed for the top of the hill and the large building that sat there. She skidded up to the front door, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Jayde, wait! You can't go in there!" her mother called, jogging up the slope to catch up.

Seeming not to hear her, Jayde let her remaining momentum carry her through the glass doors and into a brightly lit room. Eager to explore, she bolted around a corner and was suddenly confronted with a white fabric.

"Whoa, watch out!" exclaimed a boy.

As she slammed into him, he held out his arms to prevent her from hitting the wall. Startled, she looked up at the boy's face, which still held a surprised expression from being unwittingly attacked by 60 pounds of little girl. Jayde, suddenly realizing that she might be in trouble for this, looked down and stammered out an apology just as her mother came into the lobby, calling for her.

"There you are! You can't just run into a place like this!" her mother scolded.

Glancing up at the boy, she began apologizing profusely for her daughter's intrusion.

"No, no, it's fine, really!" The boy said, laughing. "So you're Jayde, right?" he said, looking down at her with a smile on his face.

Eagerly, she nodded, bouncing up and down again after determining that the light scolding would be the worst of her punishment. "So you work here? What's it like? Do you get to meet lots of Pokémon? Is it fun?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there! Yep, I work here. It's an incredible experience. Yes, I get to meet lots of Pokémon, thanks to my grandfather, and yes, it's very fun." Grinning, he looked down at her again. "Would you like to look around? At walking pace?"

"Yes please!" Glancing up at her mother, she started bouncing again and clasped her hands together in front of her. "Oh please, Mommy, please!"

"Well… I suppose that would be alright. I still need to go into town for a bit, though, so will you be okay here for awhile?"

"Yeah! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She started bolting down the hallway again, but the boy held out his arm, laughing.

"Hang on, there. You can't just go barreling down every corridor. I'm just about to go out and check on the Pokémon. Would you like to come along?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"Alright, then, follow me. Slowly," he said, eyeing her with a false sternness. Looking back up at her worrying mother, he nodded. "She'll be fine with me. I'll keep her out of trouble."

Looking at her daughter, Jayde's mother nodded, sighing. "Just stay out of people's way, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy!"

Sighing again, her mother disappeared around the corner.

Looking down at her, the boy smiled again. "Now where are my manners? I haven't even told you my name. It's Gary."

Jayde gave an extra-high bounce. "I knew I recognized you! You're Professor Oak's grandson!"

He sighed in mock exasperation. "Will I ever be recognized on my own merits? Well, come on, then. I'll show you where we keep the Pokémon."

Walking away in long strides, he was soon at the end of the stretch of hallway. More excited than ever, she skipped along after him.

_Finally, I can see some real Trainers' Pokémon up close!_

* * *

Jayde sprinted out the doors to the enclosures, the sunlight blinding her for a moment. She gazed in awe as her vision cleared; all around her lay a vast field with hills rolling toward the horizon. Several streams ran through the grass, stemming from a wide lake. Trees became more and more frequent as her eyes followed the field back, where it ended at a sunny wood.

But most spectacular were the shapes dotting the landscape. Every kind of Pokémon imaginable was here. There were Fire and Grass types, Water, Electric, Flying, Normal, Fighting, Poison, Ghost, everything. She let out a squeal of excitement. Gary laughed at her obvious glee and motioned for her to follow him.

"Now here is where the smaller Water Pokémon enjoy playing," he said as they approached one of the larger streams. "Let's see… there's a-"

"A Horsea! It evolves into Seadra, which evolves into Kingdra when it's… traded with a Dragon Scale!"

"Wow, impressive," Gary said, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Do you know what that one is?" He gestured to a round blue Pokémon splashing around.

"That's a Poliwag! It evolves into Poliwhirl, then into either Poliwrath when given a Water Stone or Politoed when it's traded with a King's Rock!" Jayde said brightly.

Gary was clearly impressed now.

"That's right again. You really know your stuff!"

Jayde giggled. "Well, I want to be a Pokémon trainer someday. I'll need to know all I can! A lot of stuff I learned from books your grandfather wrote. About evolution, why some Pokémon evolve when they're traded, how humans have created new evolutions just by interacting with Pokémon, stuff like that!"

"That's pretty advanced stuff! You sure seem like a smart cookie!"

At the mention of cookies, Jayde's stomach growled noisily, making several of the Water types look up in amusement.

Gary laughed.

"How about we play a game? I'll give you a small piece of candy for every Pokémon you can identify; a big one if you can tell me about its evolutionary line. Sound like a plan?"

* * *

An hour later, as Jayde's mother walked her out, thanking Gary for watching her, Jayde scooped up anther piece of candy that had fallen from her overflowing pockets.

Her mother shook her head in amused exasperation.

"Well, I'm assuming you had fun?"

Jayde made a positive sound around the candy she had already jammed in her mouth.

"You realize you just cleaned out the poor boy's candy supply, right?"

* * *

**A nice, light chapter to start off. This is my first attempt at fanfiction, so any feedback would be fantastic!**

**My goal with this world is to blend elements of the anime and games, as well as some more realistic touches. It will be an interesting tightrope walk, but I hope I can keep at it.**

**Updates should be pretty rapid for the first couple chapters, but eventually I'll probably fall into a nice weekly updating routine (hopefully). I'll aim to stay a chapter ahead of the updates so that I can still update if something comes up.**

**Again, thank you for reading, and any comments would be incredibly helpful!**


	2. Chapter 2

Rubber soles thudded on the dirt path that meandered up the hill, rushing past tall grass and wildflowers that blew forward in the rush of air accompanying them. They made a sudden quarter-turn, and, without ever completely stopping, hurtled towards the flashing glass doors that fronted the sprawling building resting atop the rise. As the doors burst open, the sound changed from the rubber hitting soft dirt to shiny linoleum. Sporadic squeaks accompanied the thuds as they raced down the long corridor, eventually echoing into an enormous room filled with various machines and the people working them. The squeaking grew suddenly to a screech as the soles finally skidded to a halt in front of a series of large screens.

Behind these screens rose a wall of clear glass, through which a small, round Pokémon with short blue fur running on a treadmill, its bubble-like tail-tip bobbing on the wiry black tail in between, could be seen and heard. Murmurs of encouragement came from the young man standing between the soles and the screens, who was watching them intently. His body rotated slightly, still facing the screen for a last few seconds, before finally turning to face the wearer of the rubber soles with a grin.

"Ready for your last day? We're not making it easy on you!"

The sole-wearer laughed.

"Bring it! I can take anything you throw at me!" A lopsided grin now stretched across her features.

The man ran a hand through his long, spiky brown hair as he reached with the other to grab a clipboard from the desk next to him. The attached stack of papers rustled noisily as the clipboard traded hands to the sole-wearing teenager.

She let out a high whistle as she flipped through the set of instructions.

"_All_ the Fire, Water, and Grass? But there are so many!"

The young man laughed, his teasing amusement hurling itself down through the few feet of distance and inches of height that separated them.

"Well, we thought we'd celebrate the starter types a bit. Today's one of the most fun days of the year – and _you_ get the privilege of handling one of the most important parts, solo."

She scoffed.

"I guess I shouldn't have fostered any hopes of a laid-back last day, huh? And I have to get all this done by lunch!"

"More like an hour before lunch." He winked. "You didn't think we'd let you off the hook that easy, did you? Head over to the Star Tree at 11 sharp – and bring a dry change of clothes!"

Another snort of laughter escaped her, and she looked down again at the many papers in her hands, shaking her head.

"I'd better get to it, then. No rest for the wicked." She pivoted on her toes, glancing back at him. "See you later, _Gar-Gar_!"

He gave a mock gasp of horror, raising his hand to his collarbone.

"I'm going to let that go, since I know you're going through some tough emotions right now. But I _swear_ to _god_, if you call me that again I'll set a Tauros on you."

Laughing, she sprinted away towards another hallway, dodging computers, Pokémon, and amused researchers alike with an agility built over years of running through crowded buildings.

Grabbing one of the Pokeball carts in the supply room, she slid in front of one of the many large shelves in the warehouse-like room where the dormant Pokémon were kept. After a few quick keystrokes on a touchscreen attached to the wall, several dozen small lights appeared across the side of the room she faced, illuminating those Pokeballs containing creatures that fit the criteria. Sighing with an already-tired smile, she began collecting the day's releases.

* * *

Several hours later, she finally grabbed the last two Pokeballs off the cart, which was currently resting in the shade under an oak tree. There were more oaks than any other trees on the lab's spacious fields – a bit of a running joke among those who worked here. Its leaves cast winking shadows across the grass as two bright lights appeared, forming into shapes before finally solidifying.

One of the lights formed a small Pokémon with indigo fur covering her back and a light tan on her belly and the undersides of her stubby legs. Several reddish spots ran along her spine, furless and of a strange texture when compared to the rest of her skin. As she squinted in the sudden light, flames erupted from these spots and small squeaks of delight from her throat.

The other light dimmed to reveal a purplish Pokémon with a ring of burgundy bulges on his head. From his wide mouth dripped a sweet-smelling sap; however, the scent quickly turned foul as the Grass-type caught sight of the girl releasing him. She resisted her gag-reflex – this Pokémon had never been fond of her, despite her best intentions. He quickly waddled off on his short legs, making an effort to produce the most repulsive sap possible. She sighed sadly. _Well, at least I motivate him to improve,_ she thought.

The small Fire-type had watched this with an adorably-cocked head, seeming to debate going after the grumpy plant. However, upon catching a whiff of the odor he left behind, she recoiled and instead ran over to wrestle with Jayde's ankle. Jayde knelt down with a smile and stroked the Pokémon's warm fur.

Cyndaquil was a starter in Johto, she knew, along with Totodile and Chikorita. _If I'd been raised in Johto, I might have chosen this adorable little creature._ She might also have met a wild Pokémon beforehand and chosen to travel with them – it was more common than choosing starters. Family pets, like Meowth or Nidoran; more common town-dwelling Pokémon, like Pidgey and Rattata; Pokémon caught by parents or older siblings as a gift – there were many ways to obtain a partner Pokémon without having to make the trip to Professor Oak's laboratory in Pallet.

However, Jayde had no older siblings, no family pets, and she didn't visit town very often except to go to school. She remembered her last day of classes: everyone cheering, the cries of Pokémon alongside those of humans. The sheer number of Rattata, Pidgey, Weedle, Caterpie… many would be their trainer's only Pokémon. Viridian Forest scared a lot of Pallet kids away from pursuing Pokémon training in earnest; if not that, then the first gym encountered in Viridian City. Many gyms made it their mission to not go easy on new trainers – the sooner those kids were shown how much work training really is, the better.

She already knew how much work Pokémon were, though; ever since she was a little girl, she'd been working here for hours on end, after school and on weekends, to learn everything she could. She knew many Pokémon here as if they were her own, right down to their favorite berries and petting spots. Looking down at the Cyndaquil, a rather new addition to her trainer's repertoire, Jayde thought back to the name etched on the Pokeball.

"Nubia," she cooed.

The mouse Pokémon squealed happily and rubbed her head against Jayde's shin. Light laughter rose in Jayde's throat at seeing the young Pokémon enjoying herself so much. Stroking the fur along her spine, she started rising.

"I've got to go," she said, gently nudging the youngster off of her foot. She pointed to a sunny spot on a nearby hill, where several red shapes were rolling around or playfully sparring. "You can find some other Fire-types over there. I'm sure they'd love to play with you."

Nubia whined, but she glanced at the hill for a moment before bounding towards it. As Jayde turned, she could here the amiable sounds from the other Pokémon, and from the corner of her eye she saw Nubia hop onto the back of an Arcanine (Khan, the unofficial patriarch of the long-term Fire-type residents) and happily hold on as he went racing off.

Exhausted, but still satisfied with her work, she checked her watch and ran off to her locker in the nearest outbuilding. The locker wasn't enormous, but it was large enough to store several sets of clean clothes – an asset when working with Pokémon all day. She grabbed a set and jumped into a small changing stall, quickly slamming and locking the door. When she was sure the lock was properly set, she quickly stripped off her muddy, slightly charred (as was always the case when handling Fire-types) outfit and exchanged it for a fresh pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. After tossing her old clothes back in the locker and, heeding Gary's advice, grabbing another fresh set, she wheeled around and started heading for the Star Tree.

As the large oak came into view over the hill, she could hear the chatter of a group of people, many of whose voices were familiar to her. Cresting the rise, she could see a large table covered with all kinds of food. Around it milled several researchers (looking strange in regular clothes instead of their typical white lab-coats), some of whom were already eating under the cool shade of the tree and others who were kneeling down next to the large pool to play with the Staryu and Starmie who gave this tree its name.

When she entered their line of sight, they gave a cheer and waved her over. Gary, whom she could now see leaning against the tree, gave a snort of laughter.

"There she is! Ladies and gentlemen, our guest of honor has arrived!"

Rolling her eyes, Jayde said, "I thought this was to celebrate the starters, not my 'not-really-last day'."

Gary smirked. "It's a multitasking event. Did you bring a dry change of clothes?"

Holding them up, she gave a sarcastic smile. "No, I decided to let you ambush me without coming prepared."

"Ambush? Who said anything about an ambush?" Gary said, snatching the outfit from her hands. "By the way, could you take a step back and to your left?"

Sighing resignedly, she did as he asked and immediately felt the forceful spray of several Water Guns, no doubt from the Star-s in the pond. A few seconds later, the water abated, leaving her completely drenched. Laughing, she caught the fluffy towel that Gary threw her.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Absolutely. Oh, and I'd recommend eating quickly. That'll be happening at random times throughout lunch, and there's nothing worse than a soggy piece of pizza."

* * *

With lunch extended by almost an hour at either end (bringing the total up to more than three hours), everyone was in a very good mood. Jayde was able to talk with almost every scientist present at the laboratory, since they all stopped by at one point or another to have something to eat before heading back to their research. She had known some of them for as long as she had been here, so it was a nice chance to say some farewells.

True to Gary's word, the occasional dousing of water left her drenched and shivering several times, but the warm drinks and seemingly-endless supply of heated towels (courtesy of a cheerful Slugma a bit farther away from the water) drove away the mid-winter chill. Thankfully, Pallet Town was too far south for snows in the winter; Jayde had heard of some cities where you needed a Pokémon to clear a path to even visit a neighbor's house for months at a time.

Finally, they heard a shout; Jayde turned to see a somewhat-elderly man jogging across the field. When he reached a midpoint between the lab and the Star Tree, he began jumping and waving his arms frantically. The researchers all gave a cheer, hurriedly stuffing their last bites of food in their mouths before rushing down the hill towards the professor. Gary gave a wild grin, his eyes lighting up like a child's.

"They're finally here!"

Jayde took a last bite of pizza before wiping her hands on a napkin.

"That's my cue, then."

Turning towards her, Gary gave a sigh. "You're sure? I mean, it wouldn't really be that bad, and you could-"

"No, I _can't_. You _know_ I can't get attached. It wouldn't be fair to the other two."

Giving a sad smile, Gary sighed once again. "I know, I know. Besides, you'll be back around in a few months. And we'll still run into each other at the grocery store and stuff," he teased.

Giggling, she started turning towards the outbuilding that contained her locker. She still needed to clean it out, since she wouldn't be working here for awhile at least. The thought made her sad. She had already said her goodbyes to Professor Oak the day before – they both knew he'd be almost impossible to find the day-of. And she had also said goodbye to all the Pokémon she'd known from the lab's stores – trainers tended to gravitate towards a particular team, so surplus Pokémon were rarely used. As such, they tended to become more attached to the workers at the lab – including her – than their trainers.

All her goodbyes accounted for, but she still felt like she was losing a part of herself. For almost as long as she could remember, summer break was an almost-never-ending string of Pokémon, Pokémon, Pokémon. And she had loved every minute. She didn't quite know what to do with herself for the next two months – no lab, no school, no friends of much significance. But, she reminded herself, she'd be starting a whole new life in the spring. A whole new adventure – one for which she had been waiting her entire life. And now it was just around the corner – her future lay within the intricately patterned shells of the lab's newest arrivals.

They would hatch within the next few days, she knew, and spend the next two months growing bigger and stronger, learning some basic moves, and preparing for the day they'd meet their new partner. She had been a part of this process for several years, rearing the hatchlings and keeping an ear out for any news of their journeys. But this year, she had decided to leave the lab for their early lives. If she grew too attached to a particular Pokémon, it would either end up being unfair to the other two trainers – whom she had yet to meet – or breaking her heart.

She gave the Star Tree one last affectionate pat before turning to Gary again, smiling. Even though neither of them was much for hugs, she couldn't stop herself from one last quick embrace. He had been like an older brother to her for so much of her life – it wasn't easy to let go. But after a few seconds, they both dropped their arms and stepped away, still smiling sadly.

"See you later, Gar-Gar."

He laughed. "See ya later, short-stuff."

And with that they both started down opposite sides of the hill.

* * *

**I think it's safe to say that Gary's mellowed out over the years. The first chapter was set several years after Gary would have been an active trainer, so he would have 16-17ish when he first met Jayde, making him about 25ish now. And yes, the relationship is completely platonic - brother/sisterish.**

**I'll discuss how the whole starter thing works in the next chapter or two. It was never really explained in the anime (which is what I'm basing this particular element on) why starters are given out when there are so many trainers who just grab a random partner and set out.**

**I've also boosted the age of trainers a bit - 10 was just a number that the anime gave purely because of its target audience. Mid to late teens seems a bit more likely, so that's what I'm going with. Plus, character development and relationships can be a bit deeper when the characters aren't young children.**

**Third chapter should be up over the weekend!**


	3. Chapter 3

The sudden impact knocked the Normal-type to the ground and the air from his lungs. He quickly regained his feet and dodged as the attacker wheeled around and came again from the opposite side.

"Quick Attack, Dexter!"

Before his nickname had even entirely left the human's mouth, he took aim and launched himself at his opponent, sending the blue Pokémon sprawling on her shell. Sensing that the battle was over, he sat on his haunches and rubbed his face with one paw, pleased with his work.

"Aw, it's alright, Squirt," the other human murmured to the fallen Water-type. "Why don't you take a break and try again in a while?"

Dexter's human, Santina, knelt down next to him, stroking his spiky brown fur, and Dexter pressed his face against the white covering she wore. His human had no fur on most of her body, instead covering it with a large white fabric. Dexter had grown used to this particular attire – many of the humans here wore this coat, including the male a few paces away that had been commanding the Squirtle.

Dexter had battled all three of the young hatchlings, each time taking care not to be too rough with them – he only every used body attacks, never his more powerful biting moves. These were purely training exercises, not real battles. The young ones still had trouble aiming their physical assaults properly, let alone posing a threat. Their main goal now was to improve their speed and aim without compromising the power of their attacks. Dexter had taken over most of this stage of their preparation – before that, they had been attacking much larger Pokémon to practice the basics of their moves. They were greatly improving, and Dexter was pleased to see (and feel) that each hit was harder than the one before.

He could sense the air gradually warming, and he knew that the hatchlings would soon be leaving with humans of their own. He had also trained last year's set, and the day couldn't be more than a week or so away.

Looking at the Water-type, temporarily called "Squirt" by the researchers (her new trainer would also likely give her a new name), he decided that she still needed to improve her speed – it was far too easy to dodge her (admittedly hard-hitting) Tackles.

The Fire-type was his next battle – "Char" still needed to work on the power of his attacks. It wasn't uncommon for the young Charmanders, though, as Scratch was trickier to perfect than Tackle. The young Bulbasaur ("Saur"), lying down in the shade of a nearby tree, still needed to perfect his aim.

As Santina rose, Dexter crouched into his battle-stance, muscles flexing and ready to move. Char stood several paces away, small arms raised and a trying-to-be-menacing snarl on his face. Dexter could see the flame of the Fire-type's tail swinging back and forth.

"Char, use Scratch!"

Baring his fangs, Dexter waited for Santina's command.

* * *

**A quick peek into how the little guys are doing - there will still be another chapter up this weekend.**

**At the time I'm uploading this one, 5 people have read Chapter 2! I'm psyched that you've taken the time to read this - it means a lot! Thank you!**

**As always, feedback is welcome and loved! I can't wait to write more!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Pulling a new sneaker over a foot and simultaneously trying to devour a granola bar was not the easiest task in the world. But if there were a competition for that particular skill, Jayde would no doubt walk away with the victory, her years of practice finally paying off.

This time, the first-place prize would be another few precious minutes at the lab before making her ultimate decision. She wasn't just choosing a random Pokémon – this choice would define her future. It was vital that she arrived in time for the fateful choice-before-the-choice – the somewhat surprising, slightly disappointing (for those who imagined something more dramatic) method of determining which of the three teenagers would have first choice of the starters.

Professor Oak would simply choose a number between one and twenty; the three trainers-to-be would then choose one number from within the same range. The order of proximity to the professor's number would correspond to the order of decision.

At exactly 9:00 this morning, the trainers would make their choices. If any arrived after the order had been decided, they would choose last. If choosing a starter was the most important thing a trainer did in their lives, then arriving on time for this tradition would be the second-most important.

Unfortunately, in a competition for timeliness against a Slugma Jayde would receive last place. She glanced at the clock again. _I have twenty minutes. Plenty of time._

After finishing with her shoes and breakfast, she ran to her room and grabbed the large knapsack containing some essentials: a couple of fresh outfits, some compact food options, a few Potions, some type-neutral Pokémon food…

This bag would quickly fill with supplies gathered on her journey, so she would have to get used to being sparing with her choices. Luckily, the PC system could, in addition to holding and transporting Pokémon, also store items. In fact, the only reason that the PC was no longer the central manner of storing Pokémon is because the researchers in several regions put forward that it would be healthier to allow inactive Pokémon time to relax and exercise outside of the data-created world of the storage system.

Grabbing her bag and racing down the stairs, Jayde regretted yet again dawdling earlier that morning. When she didn't have to be at the lab until 10, she usually arrived before 9; when she had to be there at 9, she was late. It was just the way her brain worked.

At 8:43, she bolted out the door, slamming it shut behind her, into the warm morning air. She had made this run hundreds of times before, with a personal record of nine minutes. Her feet pounding on the packed earth set the beat of her heart, and her chest soon tightened in a combination of effort and anxiety.

The wind shrieked high in her ears and sent her hair flying behind her like a banner. Making this run always exhilarated her, and she felt joy rise up in her as she saw two Rattata look up in surprise at her and, further on, a flock of Pidgey take to the air as she sprinted past. Observing everything along this route had become a habit of hers, and several times she fell back into a slide to snatch a candy wrapper or soda can off the ground before rolling back onto her feet and continuing on.

She could see the hill rise up several hundred yards ahead of her in the distance, and she pushed herself even faster. Spotting something on the ground, she dropped into her typical slide before realizing that there was no red candy wrapper there. Digging the sides of her shoes into the ground, she crouched over it. It was definitely a liquid, but it seemed too thick to be a soft drink. She touched her fingers to it, and, upon examining them, realized that it could only be blood.

She straightened her knees suddenly and ran to the bushes that ran alongside the road. Listening closely, she heard a faint whimper and honed in on the location. Pulling back a small branch, she saw a mat of brown fur lying against the roots of the bush and drawing rapid, shallow breaths. There was a ring of creamy fur at the far end of this mass, with brown paws drawn up over the creature's face. The brown covering the abdomen and legs was tinged with red in some places and a darker brown in others where the blood had dried. Around the chest and stretching to the right hind leg, a translucent plastic strip was pulled tight and gouging into the flesh beneath the fur. From the depth and severity of the wound, along with the sour odor it emitted, Jayde knew it must have been there for days.

Horrified, but still trying to maintain a logical grasp of the situation, she pulled a small pocket knife from her bag and tried to find where the injured hind leg met the abdomen. Finding the joint, she felt gently around until she located the spot where the plastic hadn't dug in. She eased the blade of her knife into this gap, and, placing her other hand over the plastic on either side in an effort to keep it still, she began lightly sawing. The whimpers grew into squeaks and then shrieks as the plastic band began moving in the infected wound. Keeping her grip firm and trying to say reassuring words to the Pokémon, she continued her work.

After less than a minute, she felt the plastic beginning to give way in the groove the blade had created, and she gave a quick yank up on it, finally breaking the band and allowing it to relax around the creature. The Pokémon was giving a high, pained whine, but it fell back to a whimper as she gently removed the plastic that had tortured it. Quickly examining the band, she realized that it was a set of rings that held drink cans together - disgusted, but glad that she had picked several of these up over the years, she threw it besides her bag.

She quickly searched the latter until she found a few small, blue spray-bottles. Bringing them all out, she set them to the side. She searched her knapsack again and pulled out a bottle of water and a small cloth. Wetting the soft material, she gently began wiping the dirt, leaves, twigs, and blood out of the long strip of injury. After thoroughly cleaning the wound, using several cloths and almost all of her water in the process, she finally grabbed one of the blue bottles and started the actual healing.

Potions were by no means magical – while they did expedite the natural healing process, they were meant for scrapes and bruises sustained in battle. More severe wounds almost always required either an extremely powerful Pokémon ability or a trained professional.

Satisfied that the Normal-type was at least stabilized for now, she gently wrapped it in an extra sweater from her bag. Once it was at the lab, it would be fine, she knew. While there weren't often serious injuries to heal there, all the researchers were trained in first-aid for people and Pokémon, with some having spent several years in Pokémon centers before deciding to pursue a scientific career at the lab. On top of that, the laboratory contained some of the most advanced equipment in the world – there wasn't much that it was unprepared for.

Besides that, the young Eevee would be doted on by the professor and the others. Eevees were very uncommon, especially in this part of the region, and the scientists were always eager to collect more data. They would measure the Pokémon's height, length, weight, sex (male, she noted), age…

It was then, thinking about the lab's procedures, that she realized she would be late at this point. Conflicted, she considered sprinting but knew glumly that it would be too rough for the bundle she held. Sighing, she collected her bag, placed the plastic band into a lined pocket, and began walking down the path. Though she was upset that she would miss the "ceremony", she didn't regret stopping to help the Eevee in the least. No matter what, she would still get one of the three young starters, she would still walk through the strip of Viridian forest that bordered Pallet (as most trainers did in an effort to catch more Pokémon before challenging the Viridian gym), and she would still have the adventure of a lifetime.

Smiling at this, she gently scratched the Eevee, which was currently asleep, behind one large ear, put one foot in front of the other, and marched determinedly down the road towards the large hill in the distance.


	5. Chapter 5

Dexter followed the scent that had sneaked around the corner, gliding away from Santina and the many screens she flitted between. He knew what the new scent heralded, even if he did not recognize this particular signature – the time had finally arrived. Time for all his training of the hatchlings to come to fruition. Time for three new trainers to take over. Time for the choice.

He knew that today was the day from the excited voices and bustle of movement around the lab; every researcher, no matter their field, was all but jumping for joy at the events about to unfold. He sensed that this particular choosing had a special place in their hearts, because (he had gathered from Santina's and others' conversations) one of their own was going to begin her journey.

He had met Jayde many times – she was always dancing around the lab, and, though Santina had never worked closely with her, she had even been present for his evolution a few years ago. She had been barely more than a hatchling, still less than half the size of the others, but she usually composed herself to the point where she simply seemed like a smaller version of them. Not then, though. Her eyes widening, she had dropped to her tiny knees and squealed in glee. She'd then proceeded to play with him for the rest of the day, under Santina's happy supervision, as he grew used to his new form.

He had expected her to arrive already, her thumping footsteps sounding throughout the research areas as she bounced and spun around the room, but he hadn't caught her scent yet. The one that currently filled his nostrils, a surprisingly clean mixture of detergent and earth, was distinctly male, as was the voice echoing down the corridor towards him. He approached the source and, crouching, peered around the corner into the large room.

The entire far wall bubbled eastwards to the fields outside, the glass panes that scattered the morning light throughout the room at times illuminating dim corners and at others sending ribbons of color to splash against the fine pale brick. A row of tables ran along the north wall, with the dangling cords from the computers that rested there providing a dense forest of plastic from which he could supervise the proceedings. Skirting the wall, he quickly slinked behind the mass of wires and settled down at the far side, gazing out at the humans waiting by the windows.

He recognized Gary right away. Having been at the lab longer than Jayde, Gary was well known among all those who worked here. Santina had done several projects with his assistance.

The other, whom Dexter estimated to be roughly the same age as Jayde, was a thin, anxious-looking boy, his unkempt blonde hair swept back from his pale face. He was nervously laughing with Gary, who seemed to be trying to set the boy at ease, and tended to look at the floor rather than make eye contact. His gaze shot suddenly to the southern door, which had opened suddenly with a small click, reacting to it as if it had been blown off of its hinges.

The smooth wood of the entrance streamed open to reveal an aging man – Professor Oak – escorting a tall, confident girl holding by her shoulder a small bag, the pale blue of which contrasted nicely with her dark skin and darker hair. She smiled widely upon seeing the boy, striding over and extending her hand.

"Hi! Hey, I remember you from testing - I think we had the same proctor! Weren't there, like, a hundred people or something? Hard to believe we both made it here, huh?"

The boy took a nervous swallow and shook her hand, trying to smile. "Y-yeah, I remember. Alanna, right?"

She beamed at him and let her hand fall back to her side. "Yep, that's me! And you're… sorry, I'm terrible with names."

"T-Trent."

"Trent! Yeah, you were the only one who managed to get that Diglett to stop freaking out, right?"

"A-as far as I kn-know."

She laughed. "You don't have to be so jumpy, you know. We're rivals now, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Taking a deep breath, he gave her another smile. "Yeah, I kn-know. Just a bit nervous, I guess."

"Me too! I can't believe we're getting starters! This is so exciting! Do you know which you're picking yet?"

Somewhat taken aback, he replied, "U-uh, n-no. Just kinda g-going with the f-flow, I guess."

"Same with me. I mean, I kinda know which type I like best, but I want to factor their personalities in, too, you know?"

At this he seemed to relax a little. "Yeah, me too. I want to like the _Pokémon_, not just the species."

Smiling, she nodded. She lifted her wrist and looked at the thin watch she seemed to have strapped there. Glancing at Professor Oak, and then at the door, she started to seem a bit worried.

"It's almost nine. Isn't there still another girl coming?"

Professor Oak nodded, and, though Dexter couldn't see his face, a touch of concern colored his tone. "Yes, there is. She should be here soon… and if she's not, then we'll start without her."

The girl – Alanna – bit her lip. "Okay. I _hope_ she gets here soon. I want to make sure we all have each other's numbers so we can keep in touch and let each other know how things are going."

Dexter was growing slightly worried as well. What could be keeping her? He glanced towards the entrance they had used, which he knew led to the front of the building. Though he was aware she wouldn't care about not having a choice of starter – she could befriend almost any Pokémon with ease – it still seemed important to the others.

His attention was drawn back by Professor Oak's sigh.

"Okay, we have to begin. Now-"

"Who gets to choose first?" Alanna asked.

"I'll explain. Now…"

Dexter allowed the explanation of the "choice-before-the-choice" (as Santina referred to it) drift to the background, his thoughts shifting to the hatchlings. They had all progressed well, and he felt that they were amply prepared to begin their journeys with these trainers. The boy – Trent – seemed unsure of himself, but the fact that he was permitted to be here meant that he had proven himself during the testing that all applicants must go through.

According to Santina, Trent, Alanna, and Jayde had scored the highest during these challenges, allowing them the opportunity to choose from among these three. In addition, they were not only permitted to take part in the League, which she described as a competition between the toughest trainers, but also to challenge the "Elite Four". Santina said that these trainers and their Pokémon were so powerful that even the victor of the League wouldn't hold a candle to them – he assumed this meant that they were not to be taken lightly.

But even though those trainers who qualified each year to challenge them (three new trainers and three established trainers) were widely recognized as some of the most talented in the world, or potentially talented, Santina said that there had not been a victory against the Elite Four since she was a child.

Dexter's gaze snapped back to the humans as three beams of light shot towards the ground in the space between them and the glass. The lights formed into the shapes of three small Pokémon before dispersing and leaving the hatchlings in their places. The Pokéballs that had produced them, two held by the Professor and the other by Gary, snapped shut. As the two trainers gazed in anticipation, the hatchlings tried to look as powerful as they could, puffing out their chests and standing tall.

As much as Dexter wanted to see which trainer would choose each, he decided to find Jayde. Though he knew he was likely overreacting, she might be injured somewhere - anything that would keep her this long couldn't be good. Before any of the humans could speak (beyond Alanna's cooing), he slid out from behind the tables and padded towards the door, gazing proudly at the hatchlings as he passed.

"Dexter? What are you doing here?" said Gary, laughing. "Here to see them off?"

By the time Gary had succinctly explained to the trainers who Dexter was, the Raticate had crossed the room. He focused his eyes on the door handle and jumped up, grasping the cool metal and allowing the door to open. Gary looked back at him, eyebrows slightly raised as he began to understand.

"Oh, you're going to look for Jayde, aren't you?" Hearing the Normal-type's affirmative grunt, he snorted. "Well, when you find her, ask her what the hell is taking so long."

Upon cursing, he glanced quickly at his grandfather out of habit, but the elderly man only gave an approving laugh. Gary turned back to the trainers, looking at Alanna.

"Well, you're up first."

Dexter started down the corridor, hearing behind him the farewell cries of the hatchlings and, after a few moments, the girl's decision. Pleased, he continued on, his small nails clicking on the linoleum beneath him.

* * *

**Yay, Chapter 5! And the return of Dexter. From here on out it should be almost entirely from Jayde's perspective, though it may switch viewpoints on occasion.**

**What do you think of the pacing so far? I know a lot of stories start off running immediately, but I wanted to build some background in before throwing a journey at you with characters you barely know. Too slow, or is this okay?**

**Feedback is always appreciated! Next chapter should be up by the middle-ish of next week!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Pain seared her legs as she marched up the hill. Though the distance hadn't seemed so great when she began, there had still been half the ground left to cover. She could have – and had before – sprinted the distance easily, but at walking pace the trip was excruciatingly slow and tiresome. The hill was steep, and her calves already burned with the effort.

Ignoring this, however, she turned her attention back to the small bundle she carried. The young Pokémon was mewling pitifully, and even through the sweater she had wrapped around him she could feel the heat of the fever that wracked his body. She wanted to run, to fly up to the crest of the hill and get him help, but she couldn't risk re-opening his wound. Conflictingly, she wished she could rest a moment, but she had to get him to the safety of the lab as soon as possible.

Her eyes flicked to a shape, slinking from behind a bush, that appeared suddenly silhouetted near the top of the rise. Its long, thin tail twitching, it sat on its haunches and seemed to sniff the air and peer down at the approaching pair. Smiling, Jayde forced her legs to push themselves more quickly, and the shadow scurried down the slope towards her.

"Hey, Dex. Am I late?"

The rat-like Pokémon chattered his teeth at her, as if to say, "Obviously," and nipped at her ankles to urge her onwards. Suddenly seeming to catch a scent, he paused and stared up at the bundle she cradled so carefully in her arms. As if in realization, he turned on his heels and darted back towards the building, scuttling through the small opening, to the side, made specifically for pint-sized Pokémon.

A few moments later, a voice sounded from inside, and a flash of Dexter's fur appeared at the bottom of the glass doors just as a hand flashed to the center. The door burst open, and the young woman responsible gave a shout upon seeing Jayde. The joy and relief on her face, however, quickly turned to worry mingled with shock at the damp brown fur and high-pitched whimpers of the Pokémon in Jayde's keeping.

"Shit," she swore, forgetting herself as she dashed towards them.

Upon reaching her, Santina quickly laid a hand gently on the Eevee's forehead, wincing at the height of the fever. She carefully took the miserable Pokémon from Jayde and ran for the door, taking heed not to disturb him too drastically. Jayde, her hands finally free and feeling the hill's stiff breeze cool them as it vaporized the light sheen of sweat that had formed there, followed with concern.

* * *

Gary was pacing the empty floor of the entryway to the main lab area, looking irritated. His head snapped up as they approached, his eyes wide and filled with annoyance to mask the worry.

"Where the hell-" he began, breaking off upon seeing the panicked look on Santina's face, the bundle in her arms, and the blood sparsely dotting the front and sleeves of Jayde's shirt like embers.

"Fuck! Over here, now!" He ran towards the far end of the enormous lab area, where much of the medical equipment was stored, shouting for the medics to get their asses over there _now_.

When they reached him, he had already rallied three of the clinical aides, who were hastily assembling the necessary implements. Some of the infected flesh would be beyond healing and would simply have to be removed, but there were methods available that would allow much of the new growth to be true skin and muscle instead of scar tissue. If all went well, the Eevee would recover within a week or two.

Jayde watched in apprehension as the medics carefully unwrapped the jacket with gloved hands, revealing the great gash in the Pokémon's side and the outlines of his ribs showing through his emaciated body. She heard air hiss through Gary's teeth as he saw the full condition of the creature, and she saw his fingers clench tightly, his nails digging into the heel of his hand.

"Well, now I know why you were late," he said, his eyes still glued to the table where, in between the uniforms and fingers of the aides, glimpses of brown and cream tufts of fur flashed every few seconds. "What happened?"

Without speaking, she reached around to one of the side pockets of her knapsack and pulled out the plastic rings. When she handed it to Gary, something between a scoff and a growl sounded in his throat. She had rarely seen him this upset, but, when she had, it had always concerned the treatment of a Pokémon. He cared deeply for them, sometimes more so than for other humans.

"Should I hold off on leaving? I feel like I should make sure-"

"No." The syllable flashed though the air like a knife, cutting off her tentative thought before she could feel obliged to see it through. "No," he repeated, "you have to go. The little guy will be fine here. If you don't leave now, then after he's better you'll find _another_ reason to feel like you have to stay. You know that."

She gave a soft, gloomy chuckle. He was right, of course. She always felt that she had to put everyone else first, regardless of the times she wished she could be selfish. And now here was Gary, allowing her – hell, practically ordering her – to be.

Just this once.

Looking at the Eevee, now silent and limp under the effects of the anesthesia, she closed her eyes tightly for a moment as she made a silent wish to anything that might care to listen that he would be okay. Once her eyes were open again, she turned and followed Gary, matching his long strides across the linoleum floor of the lab.

* * *

After quickly stopping by the washroom to change from her blood-stained clothing into a fresh outfit, she walked with Gary towards the Fishbowl – a large room overlooking the fields, with an entire wall made of glass. There they were greeted by the back of Professor Oak's white lab-coat, facing outwards from the transparent observation area.

He turned towards them as their sharp footsteps announced their arrival. He was visibly relieved to see Jayde, and he opened his arms wide and smiled.

"I was beginning to worry that you would never get here! Both of the others have gone already. Then again, I suppose tardiness might be a good sign. I can think of at least one other trainer that was as late as you, and he's done pretty well for himself!"

The Professor was referring to Ash Ketchum, who had left Pallet at the same time as Gary had. Though Jayde didn't know him well – he had, of course, left on his journey before she was born – she had met him on the rare occasions when he returned to the town for a visit and a rest. She liked him well enough. He had always seemed a bit scatterbrained to her, and maybe a little naïve, but he had the same ease in befriending Pokémon as she did. Many of his Pokémon still lived at the lab, though he preferred to form closer bonds with fewer instead of catching as many as possible, as some did.

She gave a light laugh, but grew solemn again as Gary explained what had kept her. A pained look growing on his face, the Professor nodded.

"Ah, I see. Well, I trust the medics to get him ready and raring to go again. We can collect some data on him once he's gotten some of his strength back. In the meantime," he said, looking at Jayde with a gleam in his eyes, "you, young lady, have a journey to start! Gary, would you mind fetching our young friend, please?"

Grinning again, Gary nodded and ran towards the eastern door, which led to a small lounge area for both people and Pokémon. As he sneaked through the door, closing it behind him, Jayde took a deep breath and looked out over the fields for a final time. Even through the glass, the sounds of a hundred Pokémon danced through the air like fairies, weaving an intricate web of notes and melodies that filled the room and made it resonate with music. Rocking back on her heels, she allowed herself to close her eyes and simply listen.

Just this once.

* * *

**Muahahaha, keeping you in suspense for another chapter. Which do you think it will be?**

**I'll try to update earlier in the week next time, but I have a school performance at the end of the week, so I'll be pretty busy. But next weekend at the latest for the next one!**

**As always, feedback is appreciated! Thank you for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, guys (she says to the empty room that comes with random hiatus). So, the last few months have been pretty eventful and stressful, and it eventually just snowballed into me not updating for two-and-a-half months. Yay! But I'm settling down again, so hopefully this time I can try not to be a jerk and actually update on time. I'm going to devote this long weekend to writing the next several chapters, so I should be able to have a steady queue to update weekly again (with maybe another update in a couple days just to speed things along). I'd recommend maybe re-reading the last chapter if you haven't for awhile, since I pick up right where I left off. So now, without further ado...**

Her reverie was broken by the light click and whisper of the opening door that marked Gary's return. He raised his eyebrow and smirked at her, seeing the obvious question in her eyes. In answer, he allowed the door to open more fully to reveal the small Pokémon sadly crouching on the cool floor. Gary knelt beside it and softly encouraged it forward. It glanced first at him and then back to the floor as it rose to its feet and trudged into the room. It spared a quick look to where the Professor stood… and then its eyes darted to its right and widened at the sight of Jayde.

A hopeful note escaped its parted lips, and it took a few tentative steps forward before breaking into a sprint, its stubby legs working furiously to reach her. Jayde dropped into a crouch and held out her hand, laughing. The ecstatic creature skidded to a halt in front of her, its short toenails scraping the linoleum, and gave her hand a series of short, excited sniffs before thrusting its greenish-blue head against it. She raised her other hand to scratch under its jawline and was rewarded by a sound of approval as the Grass-type tilted its head to give her more access.

Gary laughed. "This little guy had resigned himself to not getting a trainer. He was pretty bummed out about it."

Jayde winced and then smiled at her new partner.

"Sorry about that, buddy. I ran a bit late. But I'm here now, and I'm ready to go! What about you, Saur?"

He responded with a playful battle-stance and a sharp cry. Jayde laughed again and then glanced up as Gary tossed Saur's Pokéball to her. Her hands shot up to catch the ball before it bounced off of her head, and she looked down at Saur with a grin.

"Alright! We're ready! But first, I think you need a new name. How about it?

After hearing his excited chirping, she squinted her eyes and looked at him appraisingly. She debated between not wanting to be cheesy and also wanting to be clever… and then her mind flashed victory to the more fun side.

"Let's think of something to do with plants… hmmm….. How about… Synthesis? But Syn for short, since Synthesis sounds ridiculously pretentious."

This suggestion was greeted by laughter from both of the Oaks, but the young Bulbasaur rose up briefly on his hind legs in the closest approximation of a hop that he could manage and burbled happily. When he plopped back to all-fours, his name was Syn, and (though Gary was still sniggering) everyone in the room knew that he had accepted it.

Jayde smiled and rose to her feet, swinging her backpack over her shoulder. She held out Syn's Pokéball.

"Alright, Syn! Time to rock 'n' roll! Do you want to go in the ball or-"

Her words cut short with a snort of laughter as Syn bounded towards the door, completely ignoring his Pokéball. She shook her head and pressed the two small buttons on either side of the ball – the latter gave a small click and shrunk to the size of its ping-pong counterpart. She quickly clipped it into her belt, in the slot immediately right of the small buckle, and turned to Professor Oak, looking at him expectantly. He smiled and drew out a small bag from his lab-coat pocket. He handed to her, and she quickly tugged on the middle of the drawstring to open it, revealing a number of objects: five empty Pokéballs, a Potion, and – most importantly – a small pastel-green Pokédex.

She smiled at the realization of how perfectly the color she had chosen fit with her new friend, and she plucked Syn's Pokéball out of the belt for a moment to scan the ID into the Pokédex. All the information on Syn popped onto the screen, as well as a link to the more general species information on Bulbasaurs. Already familiar with all the knowledge she might glean from this, she hit the sleep button and pocketed the device. She replaced Syn's ball in its spot and filled the other five slots with the empty ones before popping the bag and Potion into her backpack.

Finally ready, she straightened and gave Gary and Professor Oak a wild grin.

"Time to go, then!"

Gary smiled and held up his hand.

"One more thing first," he said, and he too drew out a small object from his coat. The metal glinted in the sunlight, showing the intricate designs engraved in it. Gary held it out to her and raised an eyebrow.

"If that thing isn't full this time next year, don't bother coming back."

She took the badge-case and held it gently, exclaiming over it and thanking him. He smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's an investment. When you go up against the League and the Elite Four, I'll be expecting invitations."

Laughing, Jayde carefully placed the case into a pocket of her backpack and turned back to him. She gave a mock-salute, raising two straight fingers to her forehead and jerking them away.

"Sir, yes, sir."

He laughed and pointed over her shoulder, where Syn had begun scratching at the wooden door and complaining loudly.

Jayde turned. "Be there in just a second, Syn."

Gary's smirk softened into a genuine smile, and he held out his hand.

"Good luck out there, short-stuff."

"Thanks, Gar-Gar," she said, taking his hand and shaking it.

He scoffed and reached out his other hand to flick her forehead.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?"

Laughter echoed in the Fishbowl, tinkling off the glass and dancing with the rainbows shining through, and somewhere in the fields, on a hill overlooking the sunlit grasses, trees, ponds, and wildflowers, an Arcanine howled his farewell.

**Yeah, I did it. I went with Bulbasaur. Why? Because Bulbasaur's awesome, that's why. And yeah, I know that the name's a bit cheesy, but I couldn't resist! And yes, Bulbasaur's name came before the story name. **

**So we're finally off on a journey! Yay! The next chapter will see our new pair setting off down the road towards whatever awaits them, and it shouldn't take three months this time (hopefully)! Thank you for reading, and any and all feedback is much appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8

Another small puff of dust wafted up in the wake of Syn's footfall. He raised his next foot up and stomped down again on a tiny pile of dirt and was again rewarded by a satisfying poof. He continued this march all down the road, enjoying the scent of grasses and the warmth of the sun on his bulb. The trees in the distance had grown much closer – in a few minutes he and the human would be in their shade. He glanced up at the human – _his_ human, his _trainer_ (a word that had taken on an almost-mythical tint in his mind after listening to the humans at the lab) – and he felt that the strange mixture of emotions he had sensed before was finally settling.

When they had left the lab, she had seemed happy and sad, excited and tired, determined and hesitant – he sensed that she was more familiar with "Professor" (he assumed this was the oldest human's name, as the human was never called anything else) and the other human than the two trainers from before based on their interactions, but he wasn't sure to what extent. She had nearly been in tears when the humans had walked out the clear doors and had embraced both of them – but why would she leave if it made her sad? Syn had been considering that in the back of his mind since the beginning of this trek down the dirt path, which began just after the younger male had handed the trainer one of the strange leaves which humans made marks on – this one had seemed more colorful than any he had seen at the lab, and they had exclaimed briefly as it exchanged hands – and she had slipped it into the detachable pouch she carried on her back.

Finally, though, she seemed to be more confident, and her long strides were often punctuated by small skips which grew more and more frequent and pronounced as the treeline grew nearer. She had referred to the trees as "Viridian Forest", but earlier it had seemed to Syn like more of a patch of woods than a true forest. Now, as the shadows of the trees crept steadily closer, he sensed that this was only a small strip of the full entity – that this was merely the entryway to a massive arboreal universe and the life that thrived there. As the first swaths of shadow dappled his smooth, cool skin, he could feel in his very being the great energy that connected all of this life – from the other Pokémon he could hear humming through the trees and undergrowth to those very plants themselves – and, as his feet began to fall on an ancient carpet of pine needles and dead leaves, the forest seemed to whisper its welcome.

* * *

**A pretty short chapter, but the next few will be much longer. I just finished the longest yet, so that should be up sometime next week.  
**

**Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!**


	9. Chapter 9

Jayde hopped lightly into the air as the ball of her foot sprung off of the moss-covered root. She landed softly on the leaf-strewn forest floor and pivoted to avoid a thicket of brambles just to her right. Her steps picked quickly and carefully through the deep shadows of the dusk-lit undergrowth, and she gently adjusted her shoulders to balance the weight of the Pokémon resting there. In the late afternoon Syn had begun muttering complaints, and by evening he simply refused to walk any further. She had tried explaining why they needed to hurry through to Viridian City, but he wanted none of it. He hadn't seemed particularly upset, but he had apparently harbored an expectation of languidly moving through the forest – the hurried pace to leave the natural world and enter a large city did not seem to sit well with him.

Nonetheless, Jayde had continued on through the darkening trees as the stars slowly brightened in the sky and the orange-pink hues of the sunset faded away through the silhouetted branches. Syn had also decided that he wanted to enjoy the outside world until they finally stopped for the night, so he had refused his Pokéball yet again, choosing instead to be carried as though he were a king. Some Pokémon did choose to travel on their trainer's shoulders, but the squat, heavy Grass-type currently weighing her down was not overly well-suited to balancing – Jayde had to hunch her shoulders and stretch her neck to give him enough room, and she swore she had heard him sniggering at the absurdity of the resulting position. She was by no means weak – handling Pokémon since childhood tends to afford one at least some measure of endurance – but the strain that the added weight put on her spine finally pushed her to concede after just an hour.

She knelt down beside a large tree and rested her right forearm on the soft nest of leaves that had gathered within the mass of sprawling roots, tilting her shoulders to urge him back onto solid ground. He pushed off with his hind feet and landed with a thud – surprisingly soft for such a dense creature. He looked expectantly at her as she leaned back against the crook of one root, and she smiled and drew out some Pokémon food from her pack.

"Here you go. You must be starving after sleeping and letting me walk all that way," she said, sarcastic but with a tinge of tired amusement.

He flicked one stubby ear good-naturedly as he began devouring the food before him. She hadn't expected him to be quite so ravenous after snacking on berries all day, but within minutes he had finished the entire container. He nosed it around to make sure he hadn't missed any and, with a satisfied grunt, curled up beside her. She laid a hand on his head and gently stroked the soft, leathery skin with one thumb.

"We'll sleep here tonight, but we have to wake up early if we want to make it through this forest in time for the conference."

Perhaps "conference" was a bit too formal a word – "carnival" might fit more aptly, or "party". Her mind flicked back to the flyer Gary had handed her outside the lab – he had said that it was exclusively for trainers who had been on their journeys for less than six months. This would include all those classmates of Jayde's that were still training and near enough to make the trip, as well as the two other trainers who had left the lab that morning. Gary had told both of them about the fair before they left (the two had decided to travel together until at least Viridian City) but said that the boy had seemed too nervous and the girl, while excited about the prospect, had been torn between attending and training in the forest beforehand – there wasn't time for both. The fair was in two days, and even at the pace Jayde was pushing she wasn't sure if she would arrive until the day-of – if she stopped to train or catch more Pokémon, she would likely miss it.

"You might get to see Char and Squirt again – or whatever their names are now. And we might even get to battle them."

Syn's only response was to turn away and give a short grunt. Jayde's eyebrows drew together, and she reached out a hand. Syn allowed her to touch him, but she didn't miss the tension and slight recoil in his stance. She dropped to her stomach, propping herself up on her forearms, and looked at him with concern.

"What's wrong? Do you not like them?"

Yet again he turned away and grunted, but it seemed to be a negative response – she hadn't gotten it quite yet.

"Then what is it? Are yo- oh. I know what it is, I think. You think the only reason you're my partner is by default. You don't think I would have picked you otherwise."

He rested his head on his forelegs, silent. She paused and considered him sadly, lowering her head until pine needles brushed her cheek.

"You know, on cereal boxes there are trivia facts about different Pokémon. Things like 'Meowths collect shiny objects' or 'Spearows are very aggressive'. Those cereal boxes also say that, of the starters, Charmander is the strongest but the most difficult to train. They say that Squirtle is a nice mixture of traits. And they say that Bulbasaur is the easiest to train but the weakest."

Syn shifted his head slightly, but still he uttered no sound.

"But you know what? I've seen Charmeleons that are the sweetest, gentlest Pokémon you could ever meet. I've met Squirtles who refuse to come out of their shells because they don't like taking orders. And I know Venusaurs that can kick a Charizard's _ass_."

She held out one hand, cupping the air a few inches away from his head – a silent offer.

"Those cereal boxes are bullshit. Don't believe them. As long as you don't, I won't either. Okay? Promise."

Syn remained silent… but his gaze had shifted to her, and after a moment he pushed his head forward into her palm. She gently moved her thumb back and forth just under his chin, smiling. Even though he couldn't speak, she knew what this gesture meant all the same.

_Promise._

* * *

They made good progress the next day, and Jayde refused to stop after, on the large hill they had rested on near nightfall, she caught a glimpse of lights in the distance. Thankfully, Syn finally relented and agreed to stay in his Pokéball for the last part of the journey after Jayde playfully but sternly threatened to trade him for a less lazy Pokémon at the carnival, and at some point just after midnight her feet finally sounded on pavement. Her eyes, grateful for the light of the surrounding buildings, quickly set on a red roof some way down one of the main roads, and she soon found herself wearily pushing open a metal-and-glass door and wincing at the bright fluorescence of a Pokémon Center lobby.

"Let me guess," a voice said from across the room, where a young brunette receptionist stood behind a large desk bearing the Center symbol. "Here for the conference tomorrow? Well, technically later today, but you know what I meant."

"Yeah," Jayde responded, her voice scarcely more than a mumble. "Can I-"

"Get a room?"

Jayde nodded, but she already knew what the receptionist's response would be before the words had left the brunette's mouth.

Sure enough: "I'm sorry, but all of our rooms are full. The conference is drawing tons of trainers. There's a bit of a campsite in the fields out back. We've sent a few dozen people back already, but I'm sure you can find a spot. You're free to eat and shower in the building – just no more beds." She seemed genuinely apologetic.

"Alright, that's fine. I'll have a shower in the morning, but can you tell me where I can grab a bite to eat before I set up camp?"

The young woman showed Jayde to one of the smaller cafeterias and pointed out where different foods were stored. After she left, Jayde plucked Syn's ball out of her belt and tapped the large white button – with a grouchy squawk, the plant Pokémon emerged onto the waxed floor and squinted in the sudden light.

"Alright, buddy, we're finally back to civilization," she said as she began poking through the light-colored wooden cupboards. "The conference is tomorrow morning, but it doesn't start until 9, so we can sleep in. Do you want something to eat before we turn in for the night?"

* * *

After both had satisfied their hunger (Jayde with a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich and Syn with some Grass-type Pokémon food found at the back of a shelf), they found their way outside to the small tent-city which had formed in the large field to the rear of the Center. There seemed to be an equal number of tents and lone sleeping bags, so Jayde paid careful attention to the ground before her to avoid giving a dozing trainer a rude wakeup-call – she wasn't great at making friends (with humans, anyway), but even she knew that wasn't a good way of going about it.

She finally picked a soft, grassy spot a bit farther away from the other sleepers, curling up and using her backpack as a pillow. Syn wormed his way under her arm and cuddled against her, quickly lulled to sleep by her steady heartbeat. Jayde herself took a few minutes to fall asleep, despite the exhaustion in her bones. Her eyes traced patterns in the stars and her fingers curled absently at the long grass, already damp with dew, next to her chest. She couldn't wait to see what surprises the conference would hold, but all the same…

She looked down at Syn's sleeping form. They hadn't even been in a battle yet – what if they lost one tomorrow? She was one of the three victors this year, and she was supposed to be better than the rest – she knew that was ridiculous, of course, but that was how most viewed the victors: the best… or, at least, _soon to be_ the best. Failure to meet that expectation would be humiliating.

But that wasn't really what kept her awake those last few minutes, nor was it the cause of the vague nightmares she suffered – nightmares which, in the morning, she couldn't even recall the existence of. There was something else… a nameless, nebulous worry tugging at her thoughts and causing an ache in her mind deeper than the ache in her body. But her eyes soon grew heavy and, without even realizing they was no longer gazing at the bright lights above her, they drifted together and met, hemming in the uncertainty that skirted about the reveries of her sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

The morning flashed by at a surreal pace, causing a new thread of anxiety to coil around her chest and constrict her breathing every time she looked at the clock. Jayde showered quickly, working out all the pine needles and bits of grass that had tangled themselves in her hair, and threw on a fresh change of clothes. The lobby and field of the Center hummed with excitement, and she was able to talk to several trainers – a group of four even asked her if she'd like to walk with them, and she happily accepted.

Walking to the conference was a circus in and of itself, with a huge mass of trainers and their Pokémon strutting down the city sidewalks towards the lake. The conference was to be held on a fairgrounds set up on a large cliff overlooking the beautiful body of water, and many trainers were playfully daring each other to find out if they could dive better than their Pokémon.

The trainers Jayde walked with – Sarah, David, Mira, and Victor – each already possessed five full Pokéballs save for David, who had four. Sarah and Mira had begun their journeys two months ago in Vermillion City, and a month after that they met David. Victor, like Jayde, they had met this morning.

Syn was happily chasing Yora (a Weedle and David's partner), and, farther down the street, Lyn (Sarah's Venonat) and Marx (Mira's Abra) were harassing a group of boys in their late teens. Flashing Mira a wink, Sarah ran after them.

"_Lyyyyyyn! Leave those nice guys alone! Oh my gosh, I am _so_ sorry!..."_

Mira quickly joined her, and soon the two of them shot apologetic but triumphant waves at the three they had left behind. David snorted and rolled his eyes. The large boy came up beside Jayde and shook his head.

"Those two are unbelievable. Going guy-hunting and not bringing me along? Lame." He looked appraisingly at the five older boys ahead of them. "What do you think the odds are of me getting some numbers?"

Jayde laughed. "A hundred percent. Go for it."

He grinned and mussed his hair, making his way over to the group. Jayde smiled and tried to find Syn, but he had vanished into the crowd. She wasn't too worried about him, but she hoped he would remember to find his way back to her once they reached the fairgrounds – she wanted to use this time to train for her next destination, the Viridian Gym, and their battle there against its leader, Erebos. She glanced at Victor, but he had headphones in and was clearly on autopilot.

Jayde smiled again and looked at the ground in front of her, but soon that nameless anxiety crept back in the absence of conversation and wrapped itself snugly around her thoughts.

* * *

Syn pawed at the dusty turf of the fairground's battle area as Victor debated which of his team to send out.

"Hmmm…." His fingers flitted around one of the Pokéballs at his belt and he gave a playfully malicious grin. "I _could_ be mean… But you're just a rookie, aren't you? I can't promise to go easy on you, but I'm nice enough not to let Nat roast you."

Nat, the Growlithe inside the ball he was currently tapping, was Victor's first Pokémon, and they had already won three badges – Jayde was very thankful Syn's first battle wouldn't be against that Fire-type.

Victor's fingers instead clasped the ball next to Nat's and tossed it into the air.

"Cor, you're up!"

Syn roared (or tried to, at least) as the stout pink Poison-type appeared. It flicked its large ears and gave out a call of its own.

Victor smirked. "You can have the first move, rookie."

"You're going to regret that," Jayde replied, and she turned to Syn. "Alright, let's see a Tackle!"

Syn rushed forward with surprising speed and crashed into the Nidoran, knocking it to the ground before bounding back. This began a volley of Tackles and Poison Stings, with Victor becoming more and more frustrated as it became apparent that Cor was taking more damage.

"It should be super-effective! It's Poison on Grass!"

Jayde laughed and looked at him teasingly. "Only a rookie would forget that Bulbasaur is part Poison!"

As the final words left her mouth, Syn delivered a final Tackle – Cor went sprawling and, after trying to rise, fell over on his side, panting.

"Aw, it's okay, Cor. You did your best. That was my fault," Victor said as he recalled the tired Pokémon. He shook his head and replaced the ball in his belt. "Damn, I forgot about the dual-typing there. I thought I was being clever."

Jayde smiled and walked over to him. She stuck out her hand.

"Don't worry about it. Lots of people forget about Bulbasaur. But that was still a great battle."

Victor smiled ruefully and shook her hand. "Yeah, you were pretty good… for a rookie."

* * *

Throughout the morning, Syn battled several more Pokémon (his winning streak ended with a draw against a Spearow). Jayde bought him a treat from one of the vendors around the periphery of the clearing and laughed as he exclaimed loudly over it. For herself, she ordered a basket of fries and a large soda – for the next half-hour, she sat next to Syn, sipping and snacking contentedly.

At around noon, a voice rang out of the various speakers mounted around the fair, and everyone quieted down for a few moments to listen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to invite you to let all your Pokémon out for a bit of R&amp;R in our playpen! This will only be open for the next hour, but we have plenty of room for everyone! Enjoy!"

The playpen was an enormous enclosure in the center of the fairgrounds. It contained tall grass, a pool, a heated patch of rocks, and ample space for all sorts of Pokémon. Syn had wanted to go in earlier, but a woman standing next to the entrance had apologetically informed them that it wouldn't be open for a few hours.

All around Jayde, trainers were grinning at the Pokémon already outside, and beams of light from hundreds of Pokéballs flashed in her vision. Syn head-butted her shin, bleating excitedly – she nodded her permission and watched, laughing, as he went racing off beside a young Oddish. They reached the edge of the enclosure and bounded down one of the tunnels, their playful cries echoing into the bright afternoon air, before emerging on the other side a few moments later. Jayde smiled at their light horseplay and turned, craving an ice cre-

She suddenly whipped her head back to the play area, heart beating wildly. She saw nothing different from a few moments ago – Syn and the Oddish were chasing each other through a patch of ferns. Her worry dissolved as quickly as it had bolted into her mind, leaving behind it a simple confusion. Why had she done that? The question was meant to intone _Why did I act so stupidly?_ but instead held a more honest hue. Why _had_ she suddenly jumped? It wasn't as though anything had changed – though that wasn't entirely true, was it? For an instant, on the very edge of her vision – in the corner of her eye – she hadn't seen the playpen. She wasn't sure what she had seen, but it had seemed to her as though some mask had slipped – but even this realization began to slip away, filling her with a calm, satisfied feeling.

_It doesn't matter_, her mind soothed – the word _mask_ flashed suddenly across her mind again before fading – and she smiled and shook her head, watching Syn and his new friend capering through the small forest of knee-high plants.

She ordered a mint-chocolate-chip cone – extra sprinkles, please.

* * *

She seemed to zone-out for the next several minutes – she remembered ordering the ice cream, and then suddenly she was nibbling at the last bit of the cone and wiping her tacky fingers on a napkin, again staring at the playpen with absent and unconscious fascination. Glancing around, she realized vacantly that the noise and laughter had quieted some time ago – the trainers around her had small smiles on their faces, staring in the direction of the enclosure… but not _at_ it.

The silence would have struck her as strange, but she felt just as calm and sleepy. The rays of the noonhour sun were settling lazily around her, and she was happy just to follow Syn's movements as the wind gusted. He and the Oddish had been joined by a petite female Nidoran, and they were playfully tackling one another in the cool grass. Syn's chipper cries drifted towards her ears – but was there a tinge of something else in those cries? Or, rather, _behind_ those cries? Her eyebrows furrowed, but the euphoria began to infect her again, gently sweeping aside any doubts…

And then the mask slipped again, and she saw the shadows behind the screen. The wind gusted yet again, but it could not hide the panic in Syn's insistent shrieks, and the afternoon sun couldn't veil the cold metal and bare earth that had replaced the lovely image of the sleepiness – nor could it blind her to the black aircraft hovering above the fairgrounds, its rotors blurring together and sending rivets of air to lash at the dust.

Her eyes widened and she took two rapid steps toward the steel mesh separating her from Syn, not knowing what to do when she reached it but knowing she must – and suddenly a jolt ran through her legs as her knees collided with the packed earth, and her fingernails dug into her temples and sent wet drips down her cheeks as her reality was consumed by white agony. A scream tore from her throat. Her eyes had closed without her volition, and she forced them open again in spite of the pain, suddenly realizing she was lying in the dirt and looking up at the world. At the top of her vision she could see a corner of the helicopter, and still the trainers around her stood with vacant smiles on their faces, staring at the metal which imprisoned their terrified Pokémon, without reacting. Her mind was again overcome by an agony which blocked all thought and input, and her eyes clenched tightly shut before she drove them open again. Her throat opened as a fresh shriek burst forth, and she saw the few trainers nearest to her raise a hand to their ear, as if brushing away some insect buzzing there.

Syn's screams grew louder as the helicopter began to rise, now hooked to the web which encapsulated all the hundreds of creatures being ripped away from all they knew. She twisted her head, ignoring the hairs being yanked out of her scalp by the force of the movement against the dirt, and her eyes fixed on his ever-smaller shape pressed against the steel – _no, not pressed against_. Had he been truly pressed against it, he and all the others near the bottom would have been crushed – something was holding each creature just a hair away from the others, some force…

The pain seared in her mind again, but it only seemed to reinforce the realization. _They have a Psychic-type… _Just who _they_ were she wasn't certain, but the fact that she could glean this piece of information filled her with a furious determination – not quite enough to fight the mental bonds on her body, but enough to loosen their grip. Her thoughts flashed to the promise she and Syn had made to each other in the forest, and she saw in her mind's eye a cereal box arrogantly bearing a Trivia Fact of the Day that she had never seen during her childhood but that still echoed in the same way:

**_If you think a human can fight against a Psychic attack, you're an _****idiot!**

Below these words was a large smiley-face drawn in thick blue lines.

_Fuck_ that _shit_, she thought angrily, grimacing as a new bolt of torment fired into her brain – but suddenly she had rolled to her feet and, pushing herself up violently, she fixed on Syn's shape again as the net that so entrapped him began to draw further away from the cliff.

"_Syn!_"

The syllable tore through the serenity like a gunshot through tissue paper, and, all around her, heads jerked up and eyes jolted open as though their owners had awakened from a deep dream – a dream of falling for so long that it felt like flying, until the bottom suddenly burst into view and the wind swallowed the sounds of their screams.

As if to make up for this, those screams now resounded throughout the clearing, following Jayde as she sprinted for the edge of the cliff and leaped.

She was suddenly filled with the disconnected certainty that she would miss the net and simply fulfill the dream of falling that the others had – only this time there would be no waking up before she hit the bottom. But then her fingers closed on cold metal and wrapped tight, and her feet kicked in empty air for only a moment before finding gaps in the mesh.

Directly in front of her was a large Beedrill, buzzing excitedly at her and wiggling as best it could. She knew it wanted to be freed, but the steel, though thin, was very strong – she doubted even an industrial wire cutter could snap it easily, let alone her tiny pocket knife. She looked up to where the mesh met the helicopter's underside and was grimly motivated by the sight of a possible weakness – the clips which connected the cables.

She started to climb before another realization struck her – she glanced down at the Beedrill and struggled to make herself heard over the rush of wind being blasted by the rotors overhead.

"_If this works, all the Pokémon that can fly need to carry the ones who can't! Okay? Understand? Fly them back to the clearing!_"

The Bug-type's droning burst out suddenly staccato before it turned and started buzzing insistently to the Pokémon around it. _There you go, buddy._

She began climbing again.

* * *

The blankets around her were thick and warm, but as her eyes snapped open she felt freezing. The Pidgey-shaped clock next to her bed informed her that it was three o'clock in the morning – that must have been what awakened her, the clock chiming the hour with the cry of the tiny bird Pokémon. She couldn't remember what she had been dreaming about – had it been falling? – but she clutched the twisted blanket to her chest ferociously. All she would have to do to go back to sleep is relax and let go of it. She shivered again and glanced at the clock… hadn't it been a Pidgey a moment ago? It suddenly was again, but she could have sworn that it had just been in the likeness of a Spearow instead.

_…Masks…_

The word whispered across her mind, but she didn't understand it. She must be tired – that must be it. She should just let go of the blanket – she must have been very restless – it was twisted so tightly it almost felt solid… and very cold.

_Masks…_

The word came more insistently this time, but she waved it away impatiently. The clock chimed the hour with a sharp cry… wait, hadn't it already done that? Why was it playing the bird call again? And the sound was very loud and grating – strange for a bedside clock. Shouldn't it be softer?

She felt very tired suddenly. She knew that she should just relax and go to sleep, but something (_masks_) wouldn't stop nagging her. It must be the blanket. She would be so much more comfortable if she just let go of it. Her grip slackened-

_MASKS!_

Salt filled her mouth as her teeth clamped down, ripping a gash in her tongue that spewed blood. She felt it spill out past her lips, where some of it dribbled down her chin towards the neck of her shirt and some was whipped away in the buffeting wind from the rotors. Her grip hadn't slipped much, but she had slid down several inches on the cold metal cable, and her feet kicked wildly for a few moments until they found purchase again. She reached back up for the clips, using them as a handhold to lever herself up once more.

She could feel the alien presence pressing against her mind and shoved it away as she reached around to her pocket. Her numb fingers fumbled for a moment before closing around a small metal object and pulling it out. She caught the edge of the blade on her teeth to draw it out and then levered it on the cable to fully straighten it. The pain was back now, but she bit down again and pretended it was all from the hole in her tongue – it wasn't so bad if she felt in control of it. Her fingertips found the edge of one of the clips and guided the knife towards it. She felt it catch, slip, and then catch again. She put her weight into pushing the blade down and then levered it carefully towards her.

In one terrible instant she felt the knife bend.

She desperately slid her fingers down to the small gap it had created and pressed them against the blade itself, reinforcing it, before pulling towards her again. Her hand convulsed suddenly in another Psychic assault, and she felt warm drops of red splash onto her face from the wound that opened on her right palm. The knife tilted, but she caught it again before it could dislodge and resumed her work. She glanced down, focusing not on the dangerous – _inviting_, her mind whispered, _warm_ – blue of the lake so far below but on the faces of the Pokémon through the steel web. She smiled as she caught sight of a Pidgey, shrieking incessantly, near the top.

_Thanks, buddy. I owe you one._

She turned back to the clip, and, steeling herself for the worst, gave one last yank downwards.

She knew the blade had snapped even before the hilt slipped out of her numb hand and spun downwards towards that treacherous blue.

But she also knew to grab onto the cable with all her strength as the clip finally gave way and opened a wide gap in the mesh, through which a rush of feathers and screeching Pokémon poured almost immediately.

She saw with relief that all the winged Pokémon – a medley of Pidgey, Spearow, Butterfree, Beedrill, and even one enormous Venomoth – were carrying passengers. A shriek pulled her eyes down to a small purple mouse tumbling out of the net towards the water, but a Spearow dove down and caught the shivering creature before it fell far enough to be hurt by the impact. The convoy of Pokémon flew on. As they reached the cliff, the birds and insects came in low enough for their cargo to dismount and then wheeled around to pick up those that had been left behind. Jayde saw with dismay that Syn had not been in the first round, but a quick glance down as the fliers returned soothed her anxious heart as Syn nabbed a spot on the Venomoth's back (along with a Caterpie and a familiar young Oddish) and began his return to solid ground.

As the last of the fliers left and Jayde allowed herself to take a breath, however, she became aware of movement on the helicopter's underside – a plate of metal was slowly lowering a few feet to her left. _A hatch. The bastards in the chopper must have finally realized that their master plan had a few holes._ Her amusement at this internal joke was cut short with the small click of a metal hook above her – the hook that was the only thing attaching the steel web to the aircraft.

With a shout ("Fuck!"), she leaped for the shadow between the hatch and whatever lay inside the helicopter just before the tension entirely left the cable. Her right hand, still slippery with blood, slid off of the smooth metal, but her left found purchase enough that she could swing the right up again and catch hold.

A shadow suddenly appeared to her right.

A boot.

Her head snapped up as more shadows appeared on the metal. There were two people in black uniforms standing before her – a man and a woman, maybe in their early twenties. There was some symbol on the front of their shirts, but Jayde's angle didn't allow her to see it properly. The man said nothing, sneering, but Jayde felt saliva spatter against her face as he spit at her. The woman, however, looked dispassionately at the falling mesh for several seconds before turning to Jayde and speaking in a cold voice.

"You little _bitch_."

Jayde suddenly bit back a scream as the woman's heel came down on her left fingers, which then lost purchase and left her dangling by one hand. She tried desperately to swing it back up, but the woman had already brought her heel down again on Jayde's other hand.

The rush of air around her ears robbed her of the sound, but she felt the jolt of the bones snapping, and she screamed.

She swung her left arm up once more, caught hold of the edge… and slipped.

The helicopter was suddenly growing smaller, and she could more fully see the two shapes standing in the dimly lit cargo area – and she could see the insignia on their fronts. Her mind fixed on it as she fell, and it seared itself in her memory.

A black N surrounded by a flaming ring. The orange flames seemed to flicker like true embers, and they burned on in her eyes even after those eyes had slipped closed without her noticing.

After a few seconds the falling felt like flying, but the blue hurtled ever closer.

* * *

**Woo, longest chapter yet! This was one of the original plot points I had in mind when I began, and I tried to do it justice. I'm working a few chapters ahead, and I think there may be another few that are this long - I tend not to know how long the chapter's going to be until I actually finish it and check the word count - so hopefully I can keep the story interesting.**

**I've also nailed down goals for updates, so a new chapter should be up every Monday and Friday evening. I'm going to try to stay a few chapters ahead so that I can actually meet those goals, so we'll play it by ear.**

**As always, thank you for reading, and feedback is incredibly appreciated! Stay gold, everyone.**


	11. Chapter 11

Flying.

She was flying, flying in an empty sky, surrounded by a brilliant blue.

She couldn't see the ground, but that was okay. What was there on the ground? She was just fine up here – she felt refreshed, euphoric. The blue was good. The emptiness was tangible, and it encapsulated her and kept her safe. She could stay forever in this void, forever in the blue.

Was the blue the sky? She thought so, thought it must be, but for some reason it reminded her of water.

And of falling.

The blue was endless. The emptiness was endless. _She_ was endless. She thought that maybe she could live on past the end of time, past a point when all life on the ground had ceased – when the _ground_ had ceased. All of time and beyond, surrounded by the blue.

The only other thing flying with her was the sun. It seemed close enough to touch, but it gave no warmth. She felt cold, but that didn't matter. In the blue, nothing mattered. Nothing at all.

She flew.

* * *

There was another shape in the blue now. She couldn't see it, not exactly, but she could just make out its silhouette above her. She thought maybe it was a bird, but what would a bird be doing here? The sky was hers. The blue was hers. And this intruder encroached on the emptiness.

The intruder wasn't soaring perfectly as she was – its flight was punctuated every few moments by some movement (_wingbeat_) that she couldn't place. But the blue was around her, so she didn't care. The intruder was slowly moving between her and the sun – or was _she_ moving? After a time, more and more of its silhouette was surrounded by the light, until finally it was framed entirely.

Its limbs rose and fell in that same motion. And again. And again. But its left seemed to lag behind the right more and more, until finally it refused to rise at all.

The intruder's shadow was like an N against the sun.

And she watched, transfixed, as the fire behind it burned brighter and brighter, and she saw the intruder begin to writhe and convulse as it was seared by the flame.

She saw this and flew on.

The blue protected her. The blue kept her safe. And any intruders would pay with their lives.

She looked again at the bird – only it wasn't a bird anymore, its limbs had extended into hands and feet, it was some other thing, had morphed into some other thing, and a word (_SYN!_) echoed through her mind as she watched it fall.

When she began to fall with it, she realized that she was an intruder, too.

The blue loved no one.

The other creature was very near her now, and she could see its bubbling skin and the cracked white beneath. Its hair was entirely gone, and its lips had peeled back from its blackened teeth. Some cloudy fluid dripped down its cheeks, and it was only when it raised its head and she could see the black holes where its eyes should have been that she realized what the liquid was.

She reached out her hand for the thing, wanting to grab it, hold it despite her repulsion, but when it reached out its own hand and their fingers met, she felt only a cold surface. It shattered, first sending up a fine spiderweb of interstices that filled her vision before collapsing completely, and when she saw the reflection shatter with it she began to scream.

The shards of glass dove downwards and waited underneath her, and as they flashed sun in her eyes they suddenly morphed into whirling blades (_You little _bitch) and she fell towards them, writhing and shrieking and insane and so, so very cold.

She suddenly realized that the blue was gone now, there was only grey, a vast grey deepening to black, and even though the blades below her had dissolved when she looked back still she kept screaming, and still she fell.

* * *

**Another short one, but next chapter will be much longer. It should also bring us out of the dark just a bit - I've realized that my tone dove down into the depths for this and the last chapter. I can't promise that it won't ever go back (I can actually guarantee that it will, and more than once), but we should have a breather for a bit. **

**Expect an update in a few days, and, as always, feedback is loved and cherished. Stay gold.**


	12. Chapter 12

_The blue..._

_ There was blue once…_

_ Grey, now…_

_ Just grey…_

A ragged form lay under white cotton sheets, and an onlooker might have thought that a nurse had forgotten to pull the sheet over her head, to cover that gaunt, too-old face, that face which must belong to a corpse, were it not for the small noises that were the only signs of life – but the source of those sounds might have malfunctioned, after all. A tall machine by the bedside reduced all the complex workings of her body to numbers, and a monotonous beeping punctuated each moment. On a glass of water resting on the adjacent table, a small drop lazily jittered its way towards the cool wood and caught the dim light of morning seeping in through half-closed curtains.

The window peered through the cloth like a narrowed eye – perhaps the eye of some flying creature, a bird which was not a bird at all but still died like one. Died in the blue.

But that's silly, of course.

There were no eyes left.

_"Lizzie!" a boy cried, racing towards the small blue bulb. The wings of the plant's savior cast blasts of wind which ruffled her stiff leaves as she pumped her stubby legs across the cold rock towards her trainer. She jumped into his waiting arms, and he pressed her against his cheek as the leaves scratched his face._

_His eyes snapped open at the sound of the first scream, and both he and his Pokémon cast their gazes sharply to the dark shape in the sky. His eye caught movement, and he suddenly realized that a shadow was shooting towards the water. He took a step forward before stopping. There was nothing he could do._

_He heard several voices around him shouting commands, but he simply stroked his partner's cool blue skin absently and tracked the shape's dive, feeling the euphoria of a few moments ago sinking with the girl and stunned horror taking its place._

_There was nothing he could do._

_In the distance, the faint keening of sirens grew steadily towards a wail._

The mechanical beeping began to increase pace. A young auburn-haired man in a pale green uniform pulled open the door and entered, walking quickly towards the bed with a large smile revealing clean white teeth. He set a glass of cold water on the bedside table and checked the IV.

"Hey there, sweetheart. Can you hear me?"

He looked at the girl for any reaction, but there was none. He knew that she would soon wake, though, and it was always easier for patients in her condition to wake with someone close by.

"Aw, come on, sweetie. You're almost there. Just open your eyes. It's okay."

His smile grew at the faint twitch in her cheek.

"Come on. Time to wake up."

_A jarring shuddered through her body as her shoulder, and then her skull, collided with the cold. Pain rocketed through her mind like a flare, but she had already drifted away to a place no flares could reach._

_Her chest convulsed, and then a deeper, more primal agony washed into her along with the water that tried to fill her lungs. Her mind continued to send panicked distress signals – 'Hey, now might be a good time to start swimming!' – but her mind had apparently decided to call in all of its vacation time and hit the road – 'The number you have reached is not available. Please try again later.'_

_As the blue, that of reality long before the empty blue of her broken mind, surrounded her, her chest convulsed again._

Her sunken eyelids slowly drifted open, and tortured eyes fixed on him. Her cracked lips opened slightly, as though trying to remember words.

He coughed suddenly as her hand lashed out and struck him high in the stomach, and, as his left hand tried to hold her away, the right shot towards his pager.

_Water spattered against the coarse sand as the two young paramedics gently raised each side of her soaked, unconscious body in turn. A few slightly denser sounds rose and then withered in the breeze as the drops hit the bright plastic. After securing the two sides together, the medics gently lifted the stretcher and began the steady march towards the large vehicle, the smooth white of which was pulsating with ripples of color from the bar of light mounted atop, waiting on the road._

_As they loaded her onto the gurney, a sharp cry drew their attention. A small shape darted towards the ambulance only to be blocked by one of the medics._

_ "Easy! Stay back!" The young man raised his head and motioned for an officer to approach. "Do you have an ID on the patient yet? And does anyone know if this Bulbasaur belongs to her?"_

_ The officer held up a black backpack, its front crossed with white stenciled designs, and spoke in a quick, clear voice._

_ "This is confirmed as belonging to the patient, who has been identified as Jayde Mallik of Pallet by the Pokédex in the front pocket. She does indeed possess a Bulbasaur, and we can assume that this Pokémon is the one." The young woman gave a quick sigh of exasperation at the speak-more-quickly motion of the medic as the gurney was loaded into the ambulance. "The Bulbasaur will be delivered to the hospital shortly, and her emergency contacts will be notified," she said, picking up the struggling Grass-type._

_ "Thank you, officer," the young man said in a slightly impatient tone._

_ The siren began whining as the doors slammed shut, and it soon swallowed the creature's cries._

Footsteps pounded on the linoleum outside the glass doors. The response team could see the nurse dodging the patient's wild blows and trying to calm her, but she continued her hysterical assault.

There was a violent, tinkling crash as one of the girl's fists struck the glass on the bedside table and sent it flying to hit the floor next to the pale walls, and behind this noise and the frantic beeping of the heart monitor they could hear the tinny sounds of her screams.

_"Damn it, she's not waking up! Her head injuries weren't bad enough to cause this. Do we have any more information on what happened to her?"_

_A young raven-haired man shook his head. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but all we know at this point is that she fell some five hundred feet into water. If it weren't for those Pokémon, her injuries would have been much more severe, possibly fatal. There's evidence of slight asphyxiation, but not to the extent that it would result in her current condition."_

_"Damn it! We'll have to hope for the best. In the meantime, monitor her. Notify me if she shows any signs of waking."_

_"Yes, Doctor."_

"Doctor!"

"Give me one-point-five mills midazolam! Secure her arm and reinsert that IV!"

These words were shouted to be heard over her shrieks.

_There was blue and she heard something there heard something in the blue and it followed her it followed her to the grey followed followed followed what did she what was there she heard what_

_(think)_

_did she hear she heard in the blue what_

_(think of the)_

_what what what did she what did she hear_

Her screaming, oh god, her screaming. She sounded as though she were being put through a meat grinder one finger and toe at a time. He shied his face away reflexively as her hand shot by, and he quickly reached his own to grab her wrist. Her back was arching off of the bed as she fought them, but she clearly wasn't aware. Her eyes bulged and rolled, and he prayed that he would never know what they were seeing.

The _screaming_.

_screaming yes she was screaming in the blue but what what did she hear over them over her screams she screamed so loudly but what did she_

_(chil-)_

_what did she hear oh god what did_

_(think of the)_

_WHAT DID SHE HEAROHGODWHAT_

_(think of the children think)_

_SHE HEARD IT IN THE BLUE BUT IT FOLLOWED HERWHATWHATWASIT_

_(THINK OF THE CHILDREN THINK OF THE CHILDREN OF THE)_

_WHATDIDSHE_

_(THINKOFTHECHILDRENTHINKOFTHECHILDRENTHINKTHINKTHINK)_

Her blows came fewer and more weakly as the drug took effect. Her eyes still stared wildly at the ceiling, but whatever torment was in them was slowly sinking back into the vault of her mind. Her voice faltered and then wound down into a low, animalistic whine before cutting off completely.

_the grey the grey was back blocked the grey blocked the words but her heart knew them her thoughts slipped away oh god the words what did she_

_(think)_

* * *

**Sorry for the delay, guys! I had another chapter set up as Chapter 12, but then this chapter occurred to me just as I was about to post it.**

**The next chapter will still be up on Friday, but after that I'll be going back to a weekly update on Fridays - exams are coming up, so I can't devote as much time to writing. At the end of this month, though, I'll probably move back to twice a week.**

**As always, thank you for reading and for any feedback! Stay awesome!**


	13. Chapter 13

_"Sedati-… -earing… She-… -aking u-… -gain…"_

_Voices… voices drifting through the grey…_

_"-eep an e-… -er… Stan-… -ith ano-… -ose…"_

_Grey… Had she been flying before? Maybe…_

_(think)_

_"-ayde? –an you… -ear me… -eetheart?"_

_No more flying… Floating…_

_(think of the)_

_"-ayde?"_

_She floated._

_(of the)_

"Jayde? Can you hear me?"

A bright light cut through the grey, and she squinted her eye and withdrew.

"There you are, sweetheart. Can you hear me?"

She tried to say _Yes_, but all she managed was a groan.

"Yeah? Alright, good," the voice – she thought maybe a young man – said soothingly. A hand forced her other eye open and flashed the light again. "Do you know where you are?"

Other sounds began fading into her awareness – a steady beeping somewhere to her right, muted voices from outside whatever room she was in, the soft whisper of fabric on fabric as the voice's owner leaned over the bed. Jayde swallowed a few times, her dry throat scratchy and sore, before forcing out a weak, slurred response.

"Wil' guess… 'ospital?

"Very good. Yes, you're in Fairview Hospital in Viridian City. Do you remember what happened?"

Jayde grimaced, ignoring the question, and tried to raise her head, but something held her down against the cool cotton sheets. She sensed a flutter of movement near her temple, and suddenly some layer of warmth was lifted off of her forehead. _A strap? _Her mind tried to make sense of it, but the grey _(think of the) _still fogged her thoughts.

"Sorry about that, sweetheart. Try to relax and rest. How about some water?"

Jayde tried to open her eyes, but the fluorescent lights blinded her. Instead, she closed her eyes and simply nodded weakly.

After a few moments, she felt a cool surface against her mouth as a hand placed itself on the back of her head. She parted her lips and felt cold trickle down her throat.

By the time a cloth dabbed gently against her lip to catch a stray drop, she had slipped, as one might slip into a warm bath, back into the grey.

* * *

The world around her was blurred and hazy as her eyes drifted open, but after a few bleary blinks it slowly came into focus. She had vague memories of waking before this, but she couldn't place anything specific. A beeping was coming from her right, low and monotonous, and when she looked she could see a large screen displaying various lines and numbers. _A heart monitor. Yep, this is definitely a hospital._ A slim metal stand stood next to the monitor, and hanging from it was a large plastic bag containing a clear fluid – a small tube leading from this drew her eyes to a large needle set into her arm. She flicked them away, grimacing. She had never been fond of needles.

Her eyes meandered around the white, sterile room, picking out details at random. A glass of water sat on a small table to her right, its condensation throwing small sparks of light. A large set of green cloth curtains yawned on the left, revealing a patch of (_the blue_) clear afternoon sky. Her eyes flickered down to a small remote, the surface of which was dominated by a red button featuring a prominent white cross, lying next to her right hand. Her hand seemed to be leaden as she slowly raised it, but she laid it on the remote and managed three staccato taps before lying back.

She closed her eyes, her nostrils filled with a sharp antiseptic scent, and marked time with the beeps of the monitor – after forty-nine, a faint sigh announced the arrival of the nurse as the door whispered open. Jayde turned her head towards the sound and let her eyes open. Before her stood a smiling auburn-haired man clad in a light green uniform.

Jayde, hopeful for answers to the questions that had drifted through her mind in the forty-nine beeps of quiet, managed to raise her head slightly. _He must know _something.

This last thought was likely very true, but she quickly realized that his knowledge of what had happened after she began falling towards the blue (her mind used this name without noticing) was irrelevant – the nurse was unable to tell her anything of any importance. The most she managed to glean was in the redhead's response to her inquiries about Syn.

"Oh, yes, your Bulbasaur! He was brought with you from the conference, and at first he refused to leave your side." These last words were said with a tinny laugh. "However, when you began regaining consciousness earlier this morning, we felt it was best to allow him some rest. You seem to be getting some strength back, though, so he can visit you soon. He'll be very pleased to see you!"

Jayde smiled and nodded, but something about this answer made her feel uneasy. For one thing, it proved that this was not the same day as the conference – the fall had been in the early afternoon, and she had apparently woken up in the morning. One day in between, then – she felt her mind try to add _at least_ onto this determination and brutally pushed the thought aside. Next, Syn had been removed for some other reason – the nurse's guilty glance at the floor confirmed this. Something must have gone wrong. Maybe her heart stopped, maybe Syn had acted out (though this she doubted)… "felt it was best to allow him some rest" set off alarm bells.

"Not to sound rude, but when can I meet someone who can actually tell me anything?"

He assured her that the attending physician, Dr. Roth, would arrive shortly. "Shortly" ended up being about ten minutes, through which she vacantly smiled and nodded at the various pleasantries the nurse tried to distract her with. As the ginger walked across the room to open the window ("It's _such_ a beautiful day, and fresh air will do you good!"), the door whispered yet again with the arrival of the doctor, a tall, heavily-built blonde. The nurse greeted her, and the doctor dismissed him with a polite nod.

Jayde, slightly irritated at the lack of information being provided to her, gave a sarcastic smile and snapped, "Are you going to stand there all fucking day, or are you going to tell me what's going on?"

The woman, wearing a clean white coat that reflected the light and hurt Jayde's eyes, raised a hand. "Please calm down. I realize this situation is extremely upsetting, but if you'll wait a few minutes I promise that everything will be explained. Now, what would you like to know first?"

Jayde took a deep breath. "Well, let's start with how long I've been here. That's a nice, simple place to start."

She could see from the doctor's expression, though, that it was anything but.

Dr. Roth hesitated for a moment before responding. "I'm afraid that it's not as simple as it might seem. You see, you survived the fall – for reasons I'll expound on in a few moments – but you still suffered severe head trauma. We were able to treat it quite readily, but you didn't awaken. You slipped into a comatose state, in which you remained for more than three days. We began detecting more responsive behavior late last evening, and by the early morning you awoke." The doctor paused somewhat uncomfortably before she continued. "You… lost consciousness again, woke up at around one o'clock this afternoon and drank some water, lost consciousness for roughly four hours, and then woke again some fifteen minutes ago."

Jayde looked blankly at her for a few moments and then looked at her hands in silence. _Three days._ But something else nagged her, and her eyebrows furrowed as she met the doctor's eye.

"The nurse told me that Syn was taken away in the morning, but I only remember the afternoon one. What happened this morning?"

She repeated the question more insistently after she was met with silence.

"I'm afraid you had an… episode. You woke, but you were unaware of your surroundings and appeared to be hallucinating – screaming incoherently."

Another detail sent a flare up in her memory. "You strapped me down."

"You were thrashing in the bed and ripped the IV out of your arm. We were forced to sedate you."

Jayde absorbed this. She remembered the _(think) _grey, but she had the impression of something before that… something _(children)_ frightening. She pushed it aside. _It doesn't matter._

She began to question the doctor, who was much more accommodating than the nurse, further, and she slowly began to piece together the events of her unconsciousness.

Had she simply free-fallen, the impact on the lake would have killed her almost instantly – in her incapacitated state, she was falling headfirst. However, there were several Psychic-type Pokémon present at the conference, and they managed to slow her descent enough that she suffered only a dislocated shoulder which was caused more by the angle than the force. She couldn't help but laugh. _Both tortured and rescued by Psychics in the span of… what? Fifteen minutes? God, it seemed so much longer._

After she hit the lake, the Water-types stepped up to the plate. By the time the police and paramedics arrived, she was already onshore, unconscious but breathing. She saved the Pokémon… and they saved her.

The paramedics bundled her into the ambulance – Syn managed a spot in a police car after refusing to leave her side – and her wounds were treated at the hospital. Multiple lacerations and contusions, some "minor" skull fractures, three broken fingers, and the dislocated shoulder. All were easily healed – her fingers were still stiff, but the fractures had been closed – and she was cleared for discharge after she woke… except that she didn't wake for three days, and by this point (the doctor said with a sympathetic grimace) they wanted to monitor her for a few days to make sure she was stable. After listening to the preceding information, this didn't surprise her, though she still tasted bitterness on her tongue.

The nurse reunited her with her backpack, which she had thankfully left on the ground before making the near-suicidal leap, and she happily retrieved her cell phone to make some video calls – she contacted first her parents (worried and upset, but overjoyed that she was recovering) and then the lab, where Gary answered ("You have been on your journey for a week, and you have spent _four_ of those days _in a hospital _in a fucking _coma_! _What the hell is wrong with you?_"). When the nurse returned bring her some dinner (a steaming bowl of tomato soup and some fruit juice), she brought with her a special visitor. Jayde laughed as Syn's stubby legs clambered clumsily but enthusiastically up the cotton sheets, being careful not to disturb her IV, to curl up on her stomach.

It was like this, with Syn snuggling against her, the dinner dishes empty, and her hand tracing lazy circles on his leathery skin, that she fell asleep instead of falling unconscious, and for the first time in four days her slumber was not bound in a single color but many.

* * *

The hospital kept her for another three days after that, during which time she tended to wander outside with Syn and occasionally battle other patients. Dr. Roth tried valiantly to safeguard her from the inevitable police inquiries (they had been badgering the staff for the ability to question Jayde since she woke up that first morning), but, once it was clear that Jayde could walk and carry on conversations without difficulty, it quickly became impossible to deny them. She sat in a plush upholstered chair in the security office for most of the early afternoon of her second conscious day, answering questions and then repeating those answers about five times after that, until the interrogating officers were satisfied. The younger of the two, a mild-mannered boy who couldn't be long out of training, regarded her with something like awe and left most of the talking to his elder. They simply required a description of the event from her perspective (since she had broken free of the Psychic influence before anyone else) as well as what vague descriptions of the pair in the helicopter she could provide, but they constantly made her rehash the story. Finally, though, they allowed her to go, reminding her that, should arrests and positive identifications be made on the two criminals she had seen, she would be notified and called on to testify.

Beyond that, her sojourn was largely uneventful and, at times, incredibly boring. She did, however, try to take what little advantage of the time she could and train Syn in preparation for their upcoming battle against Erebos in the Viridian Gym. Her attempts were quite often interrupted, though, by visitors (mostly other trainers from the conference wanting to thank her), and she rapidly memorized the faces of all the news reporters that tried to approach her – within three hours of being outside, she had already found four different places to hide when such media personnel came calling.

Some company, though, was a bit more welcome.

"Hey, there's my favorite rookie! That live entertainment at the conference was something, huh?" Victor said with a sarcastic smirk, with Mira, Sarah, and David grinning and waving not far behind.

Jayde laughed and walked over, trying not to trip over Syn as he enthusiastically followed. "You guys weren't weeping at my bedside – I'm heartbroken."

"Yeah, well, we didn't want to interrupt your beauty sleep."

"Oh, how kind of you."

"We like pride ourselves on our compassion." Seeing her raised eyebrow at his pronoun choice, he laughed and added teasingly, "I'm sticking with them for a bit, even if they are almost as amateur as you."

David looked at him in mock offense and made a high-pitched noise in the back of his throat. "_Amateur?_ Excuse me, but _who_ got the Nyx Badge and _who_ lost spectacularly?"

Victor looked at him, playfully irritated. "Hey, the dude had type-advantages over almost all my team! Plus, he gave you an easier battle than he gave me because you had – what? _One_ puny badge? If I'd had your battle, we would have swept the floor with him."

David grinned. "_Sure._"

Behind him, Sarah and Mira giggled and shook their heads at Jayde, mouthing "_No_."

Victor scoffed. "I should let Nat set your sleeping bags on fire." He turned back to Jayde. "So what's _your_ plan? Calling it quits and running home to your mommy?"

Jayde smiled and cocked her head. "Not a chance. Sorry, pal, you're not getting rid of me that easily. I'm about to start catching up to you. As soon as they let me go, I'm heading over to the Gym."

Sarah winced. "Oh, good luck with _that_. You're not going to get a foot out the door."

"What are you talking about?"

She gestured to the hospital. "The media's on a leash for now since they don't want to risk getting banned from hospital property – but the second they hear you're being discharged? They're going to _swarm_ you. What you did at that conference wasn't a tiny thing. You didn't just rescue a Rattata from a tree or something – you _broke free of a Psychic attack_ and took down a fucking _mass criminal operation_. As a teenager. With no Pokémon. They nearly pissed themselves when you woke up. They ran out of ways to _say_ that you have, though, so now they're just running recaps of the conference and your daily activities every _five minutes_. If they hear you're going to challenge a Gym, you're not gonna be able to see the ground in front of you – there are going to be a _million_ reporters."

Jayde scoffed in disgust. "It's just a Gym battle! And I'm _just a trainer!_ All that happened was that I noticed the thing first. Anyone else would have done the exact same thing. It wasn't anything 'special'. It wasn't" – here she put on a ridiculous falsetto and gave a dramatic swoon – "_'bravery in the face of mortal danger'_ – it was just acting without thinking _anything_ through. It was a miracle that it worked and a bigger miracle that I didn't die. Why are they freaking out?"

This time, Mira answered. "_Because_ it was a miracle. And don't undersell yourself. It's not like _anyone_ could have done that. And even if they could have, that argument isn't going to sway the press. They'll just start flipping out over how modest you are. Your best bet is to lay low for a bit."

Victor now piped up helpfully. "Or get plastic surgery and change your name to _Francesca Vanilloupe. _That'll throw 'em off the trail."

Jayde rolled her eyes and shot him a middle finger, and they all laughed. From there the conversation turned to more casual topics with the occasional random trivia thrown in – Jayde exclaimed loudly when she saw that Lyn, who used to be just a fuzzy little purple ball with adorably tiny feet, had evolved before the playpen had been opened, and she offered the squeaking Venomoth a handful of Oran berries as thanks for rescuing Syn.

After nearly an hour of talking, joking, and laughing, the five trainers exchanged numbers and farewells. The others offered Jayde a spot in their group ("The more, the merrier," Victor said only slightly sarcastically), but she reluctantly refused.

"I think Syn and I kinda need to figure out where we're going first. Plus, me being with you is just going to make _you_ targets for the media, and I'm pretty sure that would just end with some scorched reporters and assault charges."

After they had left, promising to keep in touch, Jayde knelt down in the manicured grass beside Syn and scratched him behind one ear, feeling the greenery prick her knees through the denim. She again considered Mira's advice, not for the last time that day. By the time the nurse (whose name was Will) delivered dinner to her room that night she had made a decision. She asked to speak to Dr. Roth about her discharge date.

* * *

The next night, while televisions across Kanto enthusiastically announced her release date as set for the following day, Jayde shifted her backpack on her shoulder as her eyes readjusted to the pall of tangible darkness that overlaid the forest. She pictured her goal in her mind – she saw the city of stone rising up in her vision, heard the distant blasts of dynamite in the quarries, smelled the sulphur and the smoke. Her fingers lit on the ball at the front-right slot of her belt. _Well, Syn, here we go._

She left the fluorescent lights behind and pressed forward into the pitch.

* * *

**Bye, Viridian City - see you later!**

**As I said last chapter, the next update will be a week from now - new chapters will be up once a week until the end of the month, but after that it can go back to being twice a week.**

**As always, thanks for reading! Stay gold.**


	14. Chapter 14

Her arms pin-wheeled in the air as she fell, her chest tightening and her vision blurring, and all the while the throaty grind of black rotors hacked in her ears above even the ringing of her screams. She saw the sky yawn above her and glimpsed eternity there, and she felt the blue underneath her, calling her, oh yes – the blue called her home, because there her home would always be, with the sun and the cold and the emptiness and the thing that wasn't a bird.

She clenched her eyes shut and waited for that void to engulf her – she felt her body curl up and her arms wrap around her face to cover it against the end – but suddenly something was nudging the tensed muscles of her forearms, and when she moved in response she could feel her right elbow digging into the dirt. The sounds of the forest began to penetrate the fading reality of the blue, and she cautiously relaxed her body, letting her arms fall aside. Syn nuzzled her cheek and made a worried sound in his throat.

She pushed herself into a sitting position, brushing the dead leaves from the right side of her face and her hair. Distantly, she could hear the faint, cacophonic wingbeats of the Pidgey she had spooked, and she felt the hot pricks of threatening tears behind her eyes. She drew her knees to her chest and pressed her clamped eyelids into them to force the moisture back. It had been the fourth flashback she had experienced since leaving the city, but it had been by far the worst. She felt the tang of fear at the back of her throat. If one struck her while she was in a dangerous situation… hell, even if it _wasn't_ a dangerous situation… and she hurt someone… or hit her head…

But Syn was tugging on her sleeve now – she pushed the thoughts away and smiled despite herself.

"It's okay, Syn. I'm alright now. Sorry I scared you, bud."

He gently clambered into her lap and allowed her to embrace him. Taking deep breaths, she felt each beat of his heart slowly ground her to the present. She closed her eyes again and considered moving on.

She wanted to get to Pewter City quickly so that she could make up lost time and earn a badge… and she thought that perhaps some good luck might keep the flashbacks and nightmares at bay. They were still four or five days from the mining city, though, and she didn't feel as though she could walk any further for awhile. Besides, Syn could use some training – he had learned to use Leech Seed pretty effectively while at the hospital, but she knew that more powerful techniques would be needed to deal damage against the Rock- and Ground-types used by the Pewter leader.

When she rose to her feet, she swayed only once – an improvement.

As the afternoon passed, Syn gradually became more skilled at using his vines in combat. At first he simply lashed a fallen tree until he gained confidence in his power – after a few short hours, he was striking sticks and other small objects from the air with a respectable accuracy.

At one point, they were presented with the opportunity for an addition to their team – a Spearow took issue with their practice and swooped in to scold them. Syn quickly took a battle stance, and Jayde readied an empty ball in her hand… but memory is powerful, and she couldn't escape the flicker of a morphing bird clock in a cold bedroom – an image her mind associated with salt and iron and pain.

The Spearow escaped, and Syn was once again left to comfort her until she could regain both her feet and her composure.

* * *

She hissed and jerked her arm away from a clutching bramble, knowing that it had drawn blood even without rolling up her sleeve to examine the scratch. She had expected that she would grow used to the thorns in the forest after nearly a week of grappling with them, but it seemed as though she was hyper-attuned at the moment to both the pain and the startling grip on her clothing. Syn, on the other hand, trundled through even the densest thickets beside her, paying little mind to the possessive barbs that pricked at the thick leather of his hide. She tracked his progress when he was out of sight by the sounds of snapping branches and the sharp whicker of the thistle.

She heard a sudden clamor of cracks and turned, expecting to see Syn finally giving up his tough-guy act and making a break for a clearer path, and even as her head thudded against the packed earth and fresh scrapes opened on her face she assumed that she had been startled into another flashback – the only issue with _that_ hypothesis was that she was never fully aware that a flashback was happening until it was over. And her flashbacks didn't typically growl or show long, white fangs. She felt the fear overwhelming her and the familiar sense of reality slipping (_like a mask slips, maybe_, her mind murmured from far away), but a sudden call grounded her again and kept her consciousness in the present.

"_Willow! Come back! What's the matter with you?"_

This shout was followed by further crashing to her right as its owner tried to locate the object of their search – named Willow, apparently. Jayde had ascertained by this point that the growling mass on her chest was not aiming to brutally murder her, so she let her previous experiences with such agitation take over – she let her head rest on the ground, showed her throat to her attacker to indicate submission, and relaxed her body. The creature stopped its outright snarling, but she still sensed some cautious hostility buried beneath the victorious stance it took. She held her pose until she felt thudding footsteps to her left – suddenly the weight on her ribcage was gone, and the scuffle between the two Pokémon racketed on her right as she rolled quickly into a defensive crouch.

A boy suddenly burst from the thickets, panting – he barely had time to register the scene before him before he went tumbling beside her as the squabble inadvertently struck his thin, denim-clad ankles. He swore and shoved his body away from the fight, his long, sable hair plastered against his face and contrasting with his milky skin. His hand swept back across the pine needles and flinched back when it accidently struck her worn sneaker. He glanced up, startled, and stared for a few moments as his mind worked.

"Oh _shit_, she jumped you, didn't she? Fuck, I'm so sorry," he stammered, getting to his feet, still wary of the brawling Pokémon.

He held out a hand to assist her, but by then she had already straightened from her crouch and risen. He dropped the hand, reconsidered, and then extended it again.

"I'm so sorry about her. She's not always the best behaved around strangers, and she's a bit too headstrong for her own good." He paused before offering an apologetic smile. "I'm Cameron. Um…nice to meet you? And please don't murder me?"

Jayde smiled at that and then shook his outstretched hand. "My name's Jayde. And," she added, glancing over the boy's shoulder, "we should _probably_ split those two up before _they_ start murdering."

* * *

The boy proved himself a passable medic after insisting that the scrapes on her face needed to be cleaned. She was adamant, though, that the abrasions weren't serious enough to waste a Potion on, so they settled for water and a bit of rubbing alcohol. The sting of the alcohol was still only that – just a sting – but each time it met her frayed skin she dug her fingernails into her palms and clenched her teeth. He winced sympathetically and apologized each time he saw this and, in an effort to distract her from the smarting bite, gestured towards where Syn's Pokéball (which she had managed to persuade him into after assuring him that he had acted very heroically and therefore deserved a rest) was clipped into her belt.

"So what Pokémon is that?"

Her eyebrows rose a bit, but this was more in amusement than confusion – his question served only to support her suspicions. "Syn? He's a Bulbasaur – Grass/Poison. My first and so far only Pokémon."

"How'd you meet?"

She appreciated the diversion and told him of the testing and of that first day of her journey. When he asked why she had not caught any other Pokémon, she said simply that she wanted to wait until she and Syn were more comfortable with each other – she avoided all mention of the conference. She returned the serve of conversation after a few moments.

"What about you - what's your story? If you're an escaped convict or something I promise to give you a five-minute head start before I call the cops. It's the least I could do." After a few seconds of silence – during which he pretended that the bottle's lid was fighting him and therefore required all of his attention – the corners of her lips perked up in a teasing smile. "It's not every day we see a Houndour around here, considering they tend to live on the other side of Mt. Silver." Still no response, but she could see him smiling and shaking his head. She took this as confirmation and finished as he busied himself in putting the cloths and alcohol away. "So what's a Johto boy doing on the wrong side of the mountain?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that there was a law against us."

She laughed. "It's just that most people start their journeys in their home region before they move on."

"How do you know I'm just starting? For all you know, I could be league champion in every other region."

She grinned and wrinkled her nose mockingly, waving her hand below her nostrils. "Sorry, pal, you reek of don't-know-what-the-hell-you're-doing. If I had to bet, I'd say all those other Pokéballs in your bag are empties."

He smiled sheepishly and picked at a thread on the cuff of his pale-green plaid shirt, remaining silent. She pouted (trying not to smile) and crossed her arms like a child who hadn't gotten her way. She put on a whiny voice and said, "Oh, come on. _I_ told _you_ how I started. _Your_ turn."

He rolled his eyes, but she could see he was suppressing a smile. His fingers released the thread and moved slightly forward, gently grasping the edge of his sleeve. "Well, I'm not a criminal or anything. Just… I don't know, looking for a change, I guess? It's just, like…" He paused before sighing and turning back to her. "Okay, so you met Willow, obviously. You're right, she's my only Pokémon. We met about a month ago near my house – uh, in Cherrygrove City?" He looked at her and continued after she nodded in recognition.

He described a small pack of Houndour that lived just outside of town but that frequently visited the city. They weren't troublemakers – most people simply considered them part of the landscape and occasional nuisances. He said that he must have seen them dozens of times growing up and received countless warnings from his parents to give them a wide berth. One day, though, as he was walking home from school, he had heard a cacophony of barks and snarls. He had run towards it, his curiosity incapacitating any common sense, and discovered several of the Dark Pokémon attacking something they had cornered against a dingy brick wall. He had heard whimpering and knew that they were badly hurting whatever creature they had set upon, so he had picked up a few pieces of shattered asphalt and threw them. The Houndour had seemed to consider retaliating, but they had simply snapped a few times more at their prey before running off, their nails clicking against the broken pavement of the alleyway. Cameron had run over to the Pokémon, its fur shiny with blood, and tried to reach out to it.

He smiled at this point and grasped the edge of his cuff more firmly before pulling it back, revealing a slightly pink, puckered wound – the four worst places, two equidistant on each side of his forearm, were clearly deep puncture wounds – which would no doubt leave an eye-catching scar.

"I guess I could have gotten it treated more than I did, but it feels… I don't know, _sentimental_? As insane as that sounds." He looked down at it with that same fond smile. "It hurt like _hell_, and it'll leave a mark, but it's just something that happened, you know? And it was mostly my fault. Plus, it was the thing that sparked me." He laughed. "Again, as insane as that sounds."

She grinned. "Amazing how quickly training can turn you philosophical, huh?"

Once they had both stopped laughing, he returned to his story. Willow had bitten him deeply, and he had jumped back and to the side – as it turned out, that recoil saved him a far worse injury from the shards of blue flame that then struck the wall behind him. He had just decided that the Pokémon didn't need help if it could fight back that much when – with a faint whimper, almost a murmur, that he said was still one of his clearest memories – Willow collapsed. No fuss or fanfare. She had just crumpled to her side and drawn shallow breaths through a mouth that had no doubt tasted the oil and trash of the neglected concrete. He said that he didn't know why exactly he didn't just run home to get his bite treated and left her to her own chances – it's what his parents would have told him to do, after biting his head off for approaching an injured Pokémon in the first place. After all, there were plenty of Houndour, but only one of him.

"It was just… it felt like the first time in my life that I actually did anything valuable, you know? Because there's only one of _her_, too. Like, the stupid bite didn't matter, the bite wouldn't kill me – but leaving her there _would _have killed _her_. So I just took my jacket off, picked her up in it, and started running."

His running had led him to the nearest Pokémon center a few blocks away. They had quickly whisked Willow to emergency care while another nurse cleaned the bite. He had then called his parents and told them he was out with friends.

"The lie? I don't know, it still just seemed so _surreal_ to me. I knew they would flip out, and I just didn't want to deal with that right then. And when the nurses came out a few hours later and said that she was stable, and that I could see her… Well, I guess I was surprised she was a _her_, first of all, but when I walked in and saw her on the bed…" He smiled, taking out her Pokéball and switching it from hand to hand. "She was still supposed to be out cold, but when I came in and stood next to her, she opened her eyes a bit and nuzzled against my hand. I'm not sure she was really aware of it, but she still did it. And I guess that's when I knew that I was about to tell a fuck-ton more lies to my parents than just 'I'm out with friends'." He resumed picking at the same thread on his cuff, seemingly unaware.

"So I got home and I did a bunch of research on Houndours and training and stuff, and when I went back the next day and they said she was free to go, I asked her if she'd like to come with me. We couldn't actually leave for a while, but when I held up this Pokéball that I bought at the store earlier – she seemed a bit nervous at first, but I think she trusted me. Well, maybe part trust and part 'I bit you and that didn't scare you off, so at least you're not a wimp'. And she pushed the button herself, and-" He laughed and looked at the Pokéball in fondness and amazement. "I had a Pokémon. I spent the next couple weeks doing research and buying some supplies and hiding _all of it_ from my parents, and I applied for a license behind their backs, too. By the time I got it, I was all set."

Jayde grinned in understanding. "And you came to Kanto instead of going through Johto because your parents would start checking there first."

He nodded. "Yep. I left them a note saying that I was going on a journey, and then I just hopped on a bus to New Bark and onto another one to Pallet. I don't really have a set plan after that. It's just, with my parents… it's not like it was always my dream to be a trainer and they forbid me from going on a journey or anything. It was just never really on the table to begin with. I never considered it before, since they always talked about me going to university right after school like it was a set thing. And then Willow made me realize that it wasn't." He paused again. "My parents do love me. It's not like they _mean_ to control my life, or like they do it to be assholes. It's just how they are. And they're really great. But the life that they want me to have, and how my life should actually be… I don't know, I guess I want to figure it out on my own. You know?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. My parents always worked a ton, so I mostly stuck with myself. That's part of the reason why I was at the lab so much. It was almost more at home for me than home was. They weren't mean or anything, same as yours, but they just needed to pull in enough money so we didn't have to stress about taxes and stuff. It was just the way it was."

"Yeah." He looked down to his cuff, where he had finally pulled the thread loose, before grinning and looking back up with deep blue eyes flecked with starlight. "You wanna know a cool thing I learned from all that research, though? That fire move that she used was Will-O-Wisp, but they don't learn that move on their own. At least not usually. Pretty much the only way that she could know that move was if she used to have a trainer. I don't know if that explains why she trusted me so easily or if that's why she flips out on me so much. Maybe both."

She smiled with a tinge of sadness. Abandoned Pokémon usually had a smorgasbord of issues. Her smile perked up after a few moments, though, as she looked at how happy he was to be out here, even if he did still reek of don't-know-what-the-hell-he's-doing.

There was no real discussion of their sticking together. They simply ate dinner – Syn and Willow were still glaring at each other, but at least there was no growling – and talked a bit more before going to sleep.

And that night, for the first time in weeks, she didn't wake up screaming even once. And though there were a few Will-O-Wisps in her dreams, her mind never once reminded her that they were blue.

* * *

**Sorry about the late update! Exams are next week, so I've been juggling work for all my classes on top of this.**

**Thanks for reading, and stay gold (yep, I'm sticking with that - The Outsiders is one of my favorite books, and Frost's poem that they reference in it is awesome).**


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